Turning Tables
by venusnv80
Summary: A different take on the Season 2 Finale: Stefan and Bonnie go to Klaus to help save Damon. The results of Klaus' help comes with drastic consequences that change Bonnie and Damon's lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

**Soo I hated the Second Season Finale. I don't think that hate is a strong enough word, but yeah…I hated it; but nevertheless, it put a little plot bunny in my head and I am trying it out. **

**Damon of course is still suffering from the wolf bite, Stefan goes to Klaus to make a deal but he also takes Bonnie along…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

Prologue

"Did you really believe that I would give you any of my blood to help your brother?" Klaus smirked as Stefan Salvatore stood in front of her in the abandoned house as Katherine watched from afar.

"What can I give you…Damon can't die…I will do anything, do you want something from me…do you want me to do something?" Stefan asked walking closer to Klaus.

Klaus smiled as he peered around Stefan, "Oh Stefan, I am shocked…did you bring a witch with you to force me to give my blood?"

Stefan turned around as Bonnie Bennett entered the room and stood by the doorway. He knew that she was ready to help him take Klaus' blood by force if she had to. He wasn't sure how he managed to get her to agree to help him save Damon; but he was relieved that she agreed.

"I would never do that", Stefan lied.

"Good, but you know what…I will give you my blood and you can save your brother…you can be the hero…", Klaus smirked.

"What do you want me to do in return?"

"You can serve me. I am without people to help me in my…_endeavors_ and you would be perfect", Klaus replied.

"Stefan…no…you can't do that!" Bonnie charged over and stood next to Stefan.

"Bonnie, when he gives me the blood…I need you to take the blood to Damon and make sure he gets it", Stefan turned to her.

"Katerina", Klaus turned to her.

Katherine hesitated before bringing over a bottle. Stefan watched as Klaus bent into his wrist and lowered his wrist over the bottle as his blood began to flow inside.

"Stefan, we can't trust him", Bonnie replied.

"It's the only option we have", Stefan answered her.

Bonnie shook her head. Her entire body was starting to hum with an energy that she could not recognize or understand. She watched as Klaus smiled as he sealed the bottle and handed it to Stefan, "Now, you will serve me?" Klaus asked.

Stefan nodded, "Yes, I will serve you".

Klaus grinned, "Good", he walked closer to Stefan and Bonnie, "but you know what, I decided that I want to change the terms".

"What?" Stefan asked as he clutched the bottle.

"You have my blood and now I want the witch, your brother left me without one and now I need another!" Klaus announced and before Stefan or Bonnie could react, Bonnie felt herself being grabbed and flying through a window with Klaus clutching onto her. She could feel a definite sting in her face, but it was only second to the pain she felt in her neck as Klaus fangs sunk into her and darkness took over.

SSSSS

Katherine walked into the boarding house searching for Damon and Elena; Stefan had given her the blood as he searched for Klaus and Bonnie. Although, she hated the witch and wasn't too fond of Stefan at times, she didn't have the heart to tell him that Klaus was probably long gone with the witch. Stefan was determined to find Bonnie, so she kept quiet and volunteered to bring the blood to Damon.

Katherine walked down the hallway towards Damon's room and stood in the doorway as she observed Elena and Damon lying in the bed with their faces dangerously close to each other, "Am I disturbing something?" Katherine asked coyly.

Elena jumped away from Damon who was sweating profusely and appeared to be at death's door, "Good news…Stefan got Klaus to give you his blood", Katherine sat down on the bed as Elena moved away and fed Damon the blood from the bottle.

"Where is Stefan…is he all right?" Elena asked panicked.

Katherine turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "Do you care?"

"Yes, I care", Elena replied steadfast, "where is Stefan".

Katherine turned to look at Damon, who appeared to be healing from the wolf's bite at a rapid rate, "Oh Stefan…well you see, he was soo hellbent on saving his brother, the brother who you were just lying in bed with, with your lips inches away from his, so he told Klaus that he would serve him in return for his servitude".

"No…no…Stefan…he can't do that", Elena shook her head as she fished her phone out of her jeans and began to dial.

"He didn't", Katherine answered with a smirk.

"What…what happened?" Elena asked.

"Elena", Stefan's voice drifted from the doorway.

Elena turned to him and ran to him throwing her arms around him, "Katherine said that you gave yourself to Klaus to save Damon…what happened? Did you kill Klaus?"

Stefan looked over at Damon, who was sitting up looking much better than he had in days and then back at Elena whose eyes were filled with unshed tears, "I didn't kill Klaus".

"Then he just gave you the blood?"

"No…he took someone else in my place".

"Who…who did he take in your place?" Elena asked.

"Bon…Bonnie", Stefan choked out.

Elena shook her head and backed away from Stefan, "Noo…no…we have to find her…we have to find them…why would he take Bonnie?"

"Why wouldn't he take Bonnie, she's a powerful witch and thanks to all of your antics over the past couple of days, Klaus knows it", Katherine spoke up.

"What will he do with her…we have to find her Stefan, we have to", Elena pleaded.

"I will find Bonnie, I promise you", Stefan answered as Elena held onto him.

SSSSS

Bonnie felt the gentle rocking of her seat as she opened her eyes and glanced out of the window to the right of her. She was on a train heading…she had no idea where. "You have awakened", a voice said from beside her.

She turned to see Klaus sitting next to her smiling. She quickly felt a restriction on her face as her hand flew to a place on her cheek covered in a bandage and then went to her neck where she felt another bandage. "If you make one movement to let anyone on this train know what you are or what I am, I will slaughter everyone on this train starting with that little girl over there coloring in her book", Klaus whispered in Bonnie's ear.

Bonnie looked over at the girl with two pigtails humming a tune and coloring away without a care in the world. She bit back the tears that appeared in her eyes, "What are you going to do with me?" she choked out.

"Oh Bonnie, I have so many plans for us…trust me, this will not be as bad as you think", Klaus whispered, "and just think about all the people you are saving by serving me, that should please you…no?"

She reached up and touched the bandages.

"I thought about giving you some of my blood to heal your wounds", Klaus whispered, "but I knew that you would never want to forget our love marks. I had to tell people that you were in a car accident, they believed me…but they again, they had no other choice".

"I want to go home", Bonnie spoke in a wavy and unsteady voice.

Klaus touched her cheek and made her look directly into his eyes, "Your home is with me".

"My home is with you", Bonnie repeated as if she was in a trance.

"I am glad that you agree", Klaus smiled sitting back in his chair and focusing on his book, "now go back to your slumber, you will need to be refreshed when you get to our destination".

Bonnie wanted to fight to keep her eyes open. She wanted to use every bit of her powers to stop this train and run away, but she knew that Klaus had done something to her to paralyze her powers and she also believed that he would make good on his promise by killing the little girl sitting across from them. As Bonnie felt the tears felt the tears fall from her eyes, she felt an increasing sadness come over her. While she watched the scenery fly past as her eyes became heavy, she thought about her life or what her life would be like now and it made her want to scream and all she could think about is that her life was virtually taken away from her because of Damon Salvatore…a person she loathed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow…I am both humbled and surprised at the reaction to this fic. I thank each and every one of you for reviewing and reading, it is greatly appreciated. I guess the fact that the finale left a lot to be desired helps a lot. I hope that you all enjoy reading this update. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 1

_A year later…_

Damon Salvatore placed his hand on the door knob and felt the jolt as it went through his body. For 365 days, he had felt that jolt every single time that he put his hand on this particular door knob and entered the old decrepit house. Witches…a judgmental bunch, they always made sure to let him know that they had no interest in him visiting their domain, but they didn't torture him too much because they knew why he was there. He had come every day for 365 days.

Ever since that day that he had been healed from Klaus' blood and found out that Bonnie was taken, he felt the need to get her back in Mystic Falls safe and sound. Sure, the witch wasn't his favorite person in the world—in fact, he wasn't sure if he liked her much at all; but he could not ignore the fact that she was only there with Stefan to help save his life and that her absence had effected Elena a great deal. She was not only dealing with the loss of her father, Jenna and her best friend, but she was trying to keep Jeremy from doing something stupid.

For the first couple of months, Stefan and Elena would take off trying to find the witch and Klaus, but their trips proved fruitless. Damon thought they were a gigantic waste of time. Elena balked at him and told him that he was ungrateful for everything that Bonnie had done for him. Stefan just scoffed at him and ignored whatever Damon said.

In addition to Elena being completely torn up about Bonnie's disappearance, whatever had been in the process of happening between them before he was healed, was stalled and Damon wasn't too upset about it surprisingly. His feelings for her were confusing to say the least. While he thought that he was the closest he would ever be to having Elena as his own, knowing that Stefan was willing to sacrifice his freedom for his life made Damon want to stop his pursuit of Elena. Sure, he still made his comments (he couldn't go completely soft on Stefan), but the intense need to call Elena his own was fleeting.

"So Emily, I'm back again today…I told you that I would come back every day until you gave me answers", Damon announced as he stood in the middle of the old, dusty room, "are you going to help me find your little heir to witchdom or not?"

Silence.

"Come on…you know that I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to find her!"

Silence.

"You know that if she's with Klaus, she can't be happy or safe".

Damon felt the air change in the room as one by one the candles began to light in the room and he turned to see Emily standing in the room.

"And why do you care where Bonnie is?" Emily asked.

"Well it's nice to see you too Emily after a year you decide to show your face".

"Why are you requesting my help in finding Bonnie?"

"Look, I'm sure you know that she was only with Stefan in Klaus' place because she wanted to help him save me…so I am partially responsible for her being taken, I'm just trying to make us even".

"Even? This has nothing to do with Elena and the gratitude that she would show if you brought her best friend back to her?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

"If you know where Bonnie is…tell me".

"Bonnie is right where she should be", Emily answered.

"You can't tell me that you are ok with one of your family members serving Klaus as one of his witches?" Damon replied frustrated.

Emily cocked her head to the side, "Are you sure about that?"

"What…what are you talking about…is Bonnie some kind of pawn, did you know that Klaus would take her…"

"Damon, don't come back here", Emily replied moving away from him.

"I will come back here every day that Bonnie hasn't returned until you tell me where she is!"

Emily smiled, "Don't come back here", she repeated before disappearing and all candles blew out.

"Thanks", Damon deadpanned as his cell phone began to ring, "hello".

"Damon, Mr. Bennett's back in town, you know what you have to do", Stefan replied on the other line.

Damon closed his eyes and sighed, "Yes, I know".

"I will see you later", Stefan answered as they ended the call.

Damon walked towards the door of the house and opened it, "Emily, I will be back", he promised before closing the door.

SSSSS

Damon stopped his car in front of the Bennett house. This had been his biweekly assignment from Stefan since Bonnie disappeared. When Mr. Bennett showed up from one of his business trips, it was his job (or Stefan's and sometimes Caroline's) to see Mr. Bennett and compel him to believe that Bonnie was still in Mystic Falls. When Bonnie disappeared the group talked about what to tell her father. Elena and Caroline thought it was the best to explain the truth to him; Stefan and Damon vetoed their argument, because when Bonnie was found (and sometimes it was IF Bonnie was found), it would be easier for her if Mr. Bennett thought that she was here all along.

As Damon rapped on the door and stepped back as he waited for Mr. Bennett to answer. These meetings were never more than five minutes and Damon never walked inside. He had no interest in being assaulted by images of Bonnie.

He would never tell anyone else this, but the main reason he sought out the help of Emily and the other witches is that he felt as if he was being haunted by Bonnie. Sometimes he would wake up in a cold sweat and swear that he could see her in his bedroom or he would hear that judgy voice of hers telling him what to do as he hesitated before feasting on a co-ed. He was perfectly happy not seeing pictures of her, he had seen enough of her during those late nights in his room.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Mr. Bennett asked opening the door.

"I have come to bring you a message", Damon replied slowly as he looked directly into Mr. Bennett's eyes, "Bonnie is on a college visitation trip for a couple of days, you spoke with her this morning and she was fine".

"I spoke to her this morning and she was fine", Mr. Bennett repeated.

"Yes…you spoke to her and she was fine", Damon said again before turning on his heels and heading down the stairs.

SSSSSS

"Elena was able to track down Lucy", Stefan announced later that evening as Damon sat in the living room sipping on a beer while reading his book, "she wants to go to Louisiana and visit her".

"So go ahead", Damon shrugged as he turned a page in the book.

"She believes that Lucy will be able to help us find Bonnie and Klaus".

"I am sure that she won't be able to find them".

"Why, its worth a try. Bonnie has been a gone a year, there has to be some trace of them. Klaus has her, he had to make a mark somewhere".

Damon shrugged, "Have fun in Louisiana, but I can see right through this".

"What are you talking about?"

"You feel guilty. Bonnie was only there because you asked her to come with you to see Klaus and she was taken instead of you, so just like always you are trying to be the hero and make everything ok".

"Yes, I do feel guilty and that's why I will never stop looking for Bonnie", Stefan stated, "but I know that I'm not the only one who feels some guilt over what happened".

"What are you talking about?" Damon rolled his eyes.

"I know where you go every day Damon, I know that you go to the abandoned house where the witches are", Stefan replied.

Damon stood up and faced Stefan, "And how do you know that".

"I followed you for a couple of days. I heard you…begging Emily to help you find Bonnie…"

"Begging? I don't beg".

"You're right, _asking_…I know that you want to find Bonnie just as much as Elena and I do".

"You don't know what you are talking about. I want to find her so that I don't have to stare at your brooding face and Elena's pouting face any more, when the witch is back—everything will be back to normal and besides all that, you guys refuse to get a new witch on our side, so that's another reason why I am helping to find her…I don't feel guilty at all, I didn't ask her to help save me".

"I don't believe you, but if that makes you happy".

Damon smirked and sat back in the chair, "Have fun in Louisiana, but I doubt Lucy will provide you with any information".

"See you when I get back", Stefan replied turning around and heading out of the living room.

Damon downed his beer and threw his book on the table. Stefan had taken him right out of his peaceful mood and that meant he needed to find someone to put him back in said mood again.

SSSSS

Later that evening, Damon stumbled through the woods after finishing off a co-ed and leaving her in an alley behind the college bar that he found himself drinking in after Stefan left. He was perfectly happy knowing that his search for Bonnie was under wraps. He didn't want anyone to think that he _really_ cared that she was gone. After all, she had been nothing but trouble in his world for awhile. She constantly gave him aneurysms, threatened to kill him, she always shot him mean looks and she never laughed at his clever quips. Sure, she had her times when she was less annoying (the 60s dance, for example) but she wasn't exactly high on his list of people he wanted around—but, the fact of the matter was she tried to save his life and he guess he owed her something.

As he continued walking, he tripped over a tree branch and fell to the ground, "You know, if I was more plastered, I would think you did that Emily", Damon called out to the air as he tried to stand up as a circle of fire enclosed him in.

He stood up, "Oh…are you serious Emily!"

The fire rose higher.

"What have I done to you other than beg you to find your own great great great whatever granddaughter!" Damon shouted.

The wind began to whip around him, but the fire never wavered, "Let me out of this circle!" Damon ordered as he turned around and then he saw her, walking towards him with her hair whipping in the air.

Her mouth was set in a straight line as she walked towards him chanting as the wind picked up. He took in her appearance, she was dressed in all black and her hair was dead straight, a way she never wore it before. As she got closer, he noticed that her face was marred by a 4 inch scar on her right cheek. His ocean blue eyes met her emerald green ones and he knew that this wasn't just a vision.

"Bonnie?" he whispered moving closer to the flames.

As he uttered her name, the flames shot up higher into the air, "Bonnie, are you really here?"

She said nothing as she glared at him sending a fireball his way and it connected with his chest. He immediately began patting his body to put the fire out and once he did, he noticed the flames had died down and Bonnie was gone. Damon looked around frantically, but there was no trace of the witch…not even a scent of her. He removed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Stefan, "Stefan, get back to Mystic Falls, now".

SSSSS

"Bonnie appeared to you in the woods, why…why would she appear to you?" Elena asked confused as Damon slipped on a t-shirt while throwing his other charred shirt in the trash.

"I don't know why she would appear to me and it wasn't an appearance, she was there".

"Were you drinking?" Stefan asked skeptically, "because you smell like alcohol…a lot of it".

"Are you trying to say that I was drunk, Stefan…how do you explain my shirt…she set me on fire".

"Why would she set you on fire?" Stefan asked.

"Umm…because she hates me and she has set me on fire before".

"After spending a year being held captive by Klaus, you are saying that Bonnie would come to you and set you on fire, that makes no sense Damon except in your narcissistic mind", Caroline Forbes spoke up.

"Look here Vampire Barbie, I know what I saw and what I saw was a crazy, deranged witch who set me on fire".

"If Bonnie somehow got away from Klaus, she would come to me…or Elena…or Caroline, you would be the last person on her list", Jeremy spoke up.

"I would gladly have been the last person on her list, maybe then one of my best shirts would not be in the trash. Look, your witchy girlfriend is back, she's demented and obviously she doesn't care about seeing any of you", Damon snapped, "and I will tell you this, the next time I see her…I'm ripping her throat out".

"If you see Bonnie again, don't go near her", Jeremy stood up, "if it wasn't for you…"

"Jer!" Elena cut him off.

"Look, when she decides to appear again, I hope she does appear to you…after she tried to set me on fire tonight, I never want to see her again".

"We need to split up and look around town for Bonnie, if she's here…she may be somewhere that we know", Elena replied, "I will check Grams' house, her dad hasn't sold it yet…Caroline, check the school…"

"I will come with you", Jeremy spoke up standing next to Elena.

"Ok…Stefan, can you check the woods…make sure that she's not there hurt or something".

Stefan nodded.

"She's not the hurtee! She's the hurter!" Damon called to Elena, Jeremy and Caroline as they left the boarding house.

"I'm going to the woods to search, where were you?"

"By the tomb and you don't have to believe me, but she was there clear as day".

"Ok Damon".

"And she had a scar…on her face…didn't you say that when Klaus took her that he flew through a window, it could be from that".

"He would have given her blood to heal that wound, I am sure", Stefan replied.

"How do you know…Klaus is sick".

Stefan shook his head and walked towards the door. Damon didn't care what they said, he knew what he saw and what he saw was a witch that didn't look as if she was 100% sane.

SSSSS

The door flew open to the decrepit old house as heel clad feet stepped inside shutting the door behind them. As the person made their way down the hallway the mirrors along the wall cracked into a million pieces falling to the floor and the house wailed in despair. The person turned towards the stairs and headed towards the basement of the old house. It was dusty, filthy and scary—a palace compared to where the person had been for months.

The person sat down on the floor and closed her eyes as images of months gone by invaded her mind.

"_Bonnie, do you like your new home?" Klaus asked as he stood behind her once they entered the Victorian Home in Toronto. _

"_What do you want with me?" Bonnie whispered. _

_Klaus twirled her around to look at her, "You ask me that as if you are fearful of me"._

"_You kidnapped me"._

"_Now Bonnie, that is a __**horrible**__ way to describe the beginning of our love story"._

"_Taking someone away from their home and their friends is not a love story, it's a horror movie", Bonnie answered. _

_Klaus faced Bonnie and caressed her cheek, "So beautiful, I only wished your words matched your beauty"._

_Bonnie swallowed as she closed her eyes, "Please just let me go"._

"_I cannot do that Bonnie. You know, at first Greta was not happy with me. She cried, she begged me to let her go and allow her to return to her father and brother; but after time she realized that her rightful place was with me and not with them"._

"_I want to go home", Bonnie answered. _

"_No you don't". _

"_I am going to kill you", Bonnie said turning around and staring into Klaus eyes. _

"_Probably one day", he whispered pushing her up against the wall, "but not any time soon", he purred in her ear before placing his lips on hers. _

_Bonnie felt her powers fighting to surface, but for some reason they wouldn't and the only thing she could do at the time was allow a tear to slip from her eye._

"You betrayed me…you betrayed me!" she screamed as she stood up, "I hate you all!" She screamed in the empty room.

Bonnie stood up and began walking up the stairs from the basement, "You were supposed to protect me being my ancestor…my ancestors… and when I needed my power the most, you took it away from me. I hate you", she mumbled as she made her way out of the house, "and because of that, you should all burn again".

Bonnie stood outside of the house and she closed her eyes as she sent three fire balls into the old house immediately engulfing it in flames. She watched as the house began to burn to the ground and she could hear the spirits of all of the dead witches crying out and the only thing she could do was stand there smile and wipe the tears from her eyes as she turned and walked away.

**Is Bonnie possessed?**

**Why did she attack Damon?**

**Where's Klaus?**

**We shall see! Please review and comment! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for your reviews, comments and encouragement. This fic is really starting to take shape for me. **

**Please leave a review, comment or encouragement. I read each and every one and I appreciate them all. They really help my motivation to continue writing! So thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 2

"Do you still think Bonnie hasn't returned to Mystic Falls?" Damon asked as he and Stefan stood in front of the burned witch house the next afternoon.

"We don't know that Bonnie did this", Stefan replied.

Damon widened his eyes, "What do you mean we don't know if she did this…of course she did this! Who else would come here and burn the place down?"

"Anyone…kids…who knows, there is no trace of Bonnie in Mystic Falls and why would she come here…this is the only place where she could talk to her ancestors, why would she destroy it?"

"Uh…because the witch is crazy…like two steps below Katherine crazy!" Damon exclaimed, "we don't know what Klaus did to her or what kind of witch we are dealing with now, she could be like Greta".

"Bonnie is not like Greta", Stefan argued.

"You don't know what she's like, it's been a year and I saw her last night…she was not the Bonnie that we all knew".

"You barely knew her Damon".

"Oh come on, I know crazy and what I saw last night was a wacked out witch".

"Well she hasn't shown her face to anyone she actually cares about…"

"That because she's nuts! She burned down a house!"

"Damon, we don't know if Bonnie did this, but I do believe that you saw her last night…I mean, I doubt that you would just have visions of Bonnie".

Damon closed his mouth. He was not about to let Stefan know that Bonnie had been haunting him for months.

"Well did you two ever find Lucy?" Damon asked as they turned walking towards the car.

"No, you called me and we turned around".

"Then maybe you should go find her, so we can find out where Bonnie is hiding and try to put the reins on her", Damon stated as he got in the car as the rain began.

SSSSSS

"Why can't we find her?" Jeremy asked as he and Elena sat at their kitchen table as the rain beat against the windows.

"Stefan says that the witch mansion was burned to the ground, they think…they believe that Bonnie did it", Elena frowned.

"That doesn't make any sense, why would she do that?" Jeremy asked.

Elena shrugged, "I don't know, but Jer…if Bonnie is in town, we have to prepare ourselves…she may not be the Bonnie that we knew a year ago".

"What do you mean, I know you are not buying into Damon's theory of a psychotic Bonnie".

"I'm not Jeremy, but if Bonnie did set him on fire and did burn down the house, why hasn't she sought any of us out?"

"Because she is probably trying to get herself together, we don't know what happened while she was with Klaus".

"That's my point. I saw Greta. She said that she wasn't lost and that she was perfectly happy with Klaus, but I didn't believe her. He had to have done something to her…her father and brother would not have fought so hard to save her if she was inherently evil", Elena explained.

"You _would_ believe anything Damon said", Jeremy glared at her as he got up from the table.

"That is not true Jer".

"Oh no, I find that hard to believe…after Bonnie disappeared, I noticed something between you two…I'm not sure what it was or is, but I noticed something".

"Jeremy, you know I love Stefan".

"But you feel something for Damon, don't you?" Jeremy asked, "after all he's done…to me…to Caroline…to you…to Bonnie, you still feel something for him…"

Elena opened her mouth to speak, but there was an unexpected rattle on the door. Elena shook her head as Jeremy turned away from her and she looked through the window, "Oh my god", she gasped and opened the door to see Bonnie standing on the porch drenched, "Bonnie…oh my god, come in…come in", she grabbed her and hugged her tightly, "I missed you soo much".

"Bon…", Jeremy smiled as he hugged Bonnie as soon as Elena let her go, "we searched all over for you".

Bonnie stepped back and looked from Elena to Jeremy as tears appeared in her eyes, "I missed you guys, so much", she choked out as Elena and Jeremy hugged her again.

"Let me get you some dry clothes", Elena rushed out of the kitchen as Bonnie followed her slowly with Jeremy.

"I'm so glad you're back", Jeremy said stopping as they paused on the stairs and touching Bonnie's face. As he moved her wet hair out of her face, he noticed her scar—his face softened and in response, she immediately pulled away from him and moved her hair in her face, "I'm glad to be back", she said quietly, "let me get those clothes from Elena" , she slid past him walking up the stairs.

Bonnie entered Elena's room and Elena rushed over to her handing her some clothes, "I will leave while you change…"

"Can you stay please", Bonnie asked timidly.

"Sure…sure…anything you want", Elena smiled, "I will sit right here and wait for you to come out of the bathroom".

Bonnie walked into the bathroom closing the door behind her and looked in the mirror. She focused on the scar on the right side of her face on her cheek. It was four inches and the skin where the glass cut her was pink and raised. It was definitely noticeable against her caramel skin. Over the past year, she had become accustomed to looking at the scar in the mirror, but seeing the looks on people's faces when they saw her made the feeling of the day she finally saw the scar come back to her.

_Bonnie entered the bathroom after Klaus dismissed her so that he could go out and feed. He made sure to tell her that if she ever thought about leaving, he would track her down and if he could not find her—he would find people that she did care about, starting with her father. Klaus also made a point to say that he had forgiven her for trying to set him on fire a couple of days ago, but he would not be soo kind again. After that day when she tried to set him on fire (three days after arriving at the house), her powers were dulled. It was as if he could control them or her. _

_It had been a week since they had left Mystic Falls and she realized that it was time to remove the bandage from her cheek. She slowly removed the bandage and braced herself for the sight in front of her. As soon as she placed the bandage on the sink, she looked in the mirror and gasped. The tears quickly came to her eyes as she touched her cheek. The scar was about 4 inches long, the skin was raised and it was slightly red. It was a permanent scar that would never go away. She covered her eyes as she began to cry as she heard something crack in front of her. She lowered her hands and noticed that the mirror began to crack slowly and fall into the sink. _

_Looking down, she picked up a piece of the glass and held it to her wrist for a few moments. It was better to be dead, than be here with Klaus. She finally understand Katherine. She closed her eyes as she felt the glass break her skin and waited as she felt the blood flow out of her wrist. She then moved to her other wrist and sliced it hoping that this would be fast. She sat down on the bathroom floor as the blood flowed onto the white tiles. She could feel herself becoming drowsy. As she thought about her father, Elena, Caroline and Jeremy she smiled…she knew that they would miss her, but she wouldn't allow them to come face to face with her one day if she was aligned with Klaus. _

_After a few moments, Bonnie collapsed on the floor looking at her steady stream of blood and closed her eyes..._

"Bonnie, are you ok in there?" Elena asked knocking on the door.

"Umm…fine…fine", Bonnie wiped her eyes and opened the bathroom door.

"Bon, Jeremy wants to come in…"

"No, no…can we just have some time together…I'm sorry, I just…"

"I understand, I will tell him we have some girl talk to attend to", Elena smiled, "I will be right back".

Bonnie nodded as Elena exited the room. Bonnie sat down on the bed and looked over at the pictures of she, Elena and Caroline on the desk. So much had changed since those pictures had been taken. Bonnie stood up and picked up one of them touching her face when Elena entered, "Jeremy understands".

Bonnie nodded as she sat back on the bed where Elena joined her, "Bonnie, are you ok?" Elena asked.

"I'm alive", Bonnie smiled slightly.

"We have missed you so much, Stefan and I looked all over…Jeremy and Caroline too…how long have you been back…how did you get back…?"

"I…I don't remember", Bonnie replied, "one day, I was with Klaus, the next…I was waking up in my house alone…my dad is on a business trip again".

"But when did you realize that you were back in Mystic Falls?"

"This morning".

Elena frowned; Damon said he saw Bonnie the night before in the woods.

"Bonnie, what did Klaus do to you?" Elena asked quietly.

Bonnie shook her head, "I don't want to talk about Klaus".

"Bonnie…"

"Elena, I do not want to speak about Klaus", Bonnie cut her off, "ever".

"Ok…ok", Elena nodded as she hugged Bonnie tightly.

Bonnie held onto Elena and closed her eyes hoping that being back would erase all memories of being with Klaus from her mind.

SSSSS

The next morning Bonnie opened her eyes, she could hear voices downstairs but she couldn't make out exactly who the voices belonged to. "You're awake", Jeremy said from a corner in the room.

Bonnie jumped a little, "You scared me".

"I…I didn't mean to, I just wanted to stand here and watch you sleep for awhile…make sure that you are here and ok".

Bonnie sat up, "I'm here and I'm alive".

"You are and I'm glad", Jeremy moved across the room, "I missed you so much Bonnie, you have no idea how much I missed you…", he reached down and placed a hand on her cheek, as he kissed her softly on the lips.

Bonnie moved away from him, "I'm sorry".

"I understand, you had a hard year…I am going to help you, you don't need to be afraid of anything".

"Jeremy, I want you to know that I care about you a lot, but…"

"But what?" Jeremy asked.

"But I don't think that we can start where we left off, I'm different and you…it's been a year, you had to have changed too".

"Bonnie, I still feel the same way about you…"

"Jeremy, I am not the same person that you had feelings for a year ago and I just…I want you to be with someone who can be with you with no problems".

"Bonnie, I can wait until you settle in…"

"No, I don't want you to. Jeremy, please just be my friend now…nothing more".

Bonnie could see the hurt eyes that Jeremy cast her way, "I'm sorry", she whispered as she walked past him and out of the room.

Bonnie walked downstairs to see Caroline and Stefan standing in the living room talking to Elena. When Caroline caught glimpse of Bonnie she grinned as she rushed over at Vampire speed and enveloped Bonnie in a hug, "Bonnie, I missed you so much! Oh my god, don't you ever leave us again!"

"Caroline, you're cutting off my oxygen", Bonnie smiled.

"I'm sorry…sorry…I just thought that we lost you forever and now you're back and our group is whole again", Caroline beamed.

"Yup", Bonnie said as Stefan moved closer to her.

"Bonnie", Stefan said softly.

"Hi Stefan".

"Can I talk to Bonnie in private", Stefan asked.

"Sure, we will go make some breakfast", Elena replied pulling Caroline out of the room.

"Bonnie, I want to tell you that I'm sorry…it should have been me, not you", Stefan began, "Klaus moved faster than I had time to react, I searched all over the woods for you…we never stopped searching".

"I know, Elena told me".

"I want you to know that I am sorry for what happened to you and if there is ever anything I can do for you let me know".

Bonnie nodded, "Where's Damon?"

Stefan raised an eyebrow; he had to admit, he was surprised that she would even ask about Damon, "I'm not exactly sure".

"Good…keep him away from me please", Bonnie replied.

"Did Damon do something that I don't know about, he said that he saw you in the woods a couple of days ago".

"I haven't see Damon since I've been back and I don't want to, now excuse me…I need to get something to eat", Bonnie stated walking away from Stefan and going into the kitchen.

Stefan watched as Bonnie disappeared into the kitchen with Caroline and Elena. Something was different about her. He had no idea what it was, but when he looked into her eyes—he saw a different Bonnie and it saddened him.

SSSSS

"So, she's back and does she appear to be the same Bonnie?" Damon asked as Stefan entered his bedroom after leaving Elena's house.

Stefan frowned, "She does appear to be different".

"What did I say…the witch is wacked out of her mind".

"She says she never saw you in the woods and Elena says she doesn't remember anything until yesterday".

"She's lying, she was in the woods and she set me on fire".

"She doesn't remember it and don't you dare confront her about it".

"What…what do you mean, she tried to kill me", Damon argued.

"I looked into Bonnie's eyes, something is wrong with her and Elena says she won't talk about her time with Klaus at all—we should just let her be for awhile".

"Are you kidding me, she could be a sleeper agent or something for Klaus…she is not to be trusted".

"Stay away from her Damon", Stefan warned.

"Thanks for the suggestion, but no can do brother…she won't get away with setting me on fire and then lying about it", Damon started towards the door.

"She told me to keep you away from her", Stefan replied.

"What?" Damon flew over to Stefan, "she wants you to keep me away from her, I did nothing to her!"

"Look, stay away from her ok…that is all you have to do, Bonnie has undoubtedly been through hell and you need to leave her alone".

"She tries to kill me and I need to leave _her_ alone?" Damon fumed.

"Yes".

"Fine".

"I'm not kidding Damon", Stefan warned.

"Yes, I know…I will stay away from the witch".

Stefan nodded, "Good", he replied as he headed out of the room.

"After I find out why she tried to kill me", Damon whispered as he headed out behind Stefan.

SSSSS

Bonnie walked into her bedroom and stood in the middle of it. After promising Elena and Caroline that she would come back after changing clothes, she went home. She just needed to feel some sort of normal for the first time since she woke up in her bed in Mystic Falls. She sat on her bed and closed her eyes for a few moments. Sometimes when she was with Klaus, she would close her eyes and try to focus on being in a different place…

"So you wanted me to stay away from you", Damon's voice cut through the silence in her room.

Bonnie opened her eyes and glared at Damon standing in front of her as her fist balled up at her sides.

**Leave it to Damon not to leave well enough alone. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for your reviews and comments, I was going to wait to post this but I am going away this weekend-so I decided, why wait? I am soo excited to continue with this fic and read all of your comments. Thank you bunches!**

**One thing I can say is that Bamon is definitely a slow burn. I am attempting to serialize this fic a little. I hope to keep it going until VD begins again in the fall. But please know, this will be a journey for Bonnie and Damon...so if you are willing to stick with me, I am grateful. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 3

"How did you get in my house…get out", Bonnie stood up from her bed and walked over to Damon.

"Do you remember when we were all playing nice with each other to defeat Klaus…yes, well you invited me in remember?"

"No, I don't remember", Bonnie snapped, "now get out".

"Oh you don't remember…typical… you don't remember a lot do you?" Damon moved closer to her, "you don't remember setting me on fire in the woods two days ago".

"No", Bonnie hissed.

"Oh no…you don't remember setting that old house where all of your ancestors spirits were lurking around?"

"No", Bonnie shook her head.

"Oh you're good…real good…but I know I saw you in the woods and I know you tried to set me on fire".

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I am tempted to set you on fire right now…leave my house now!" Bonnie screamed.

"I don't know who you are trying to fool Bonnie, but I am not falling for it. There is something wrong with you and everyone is tripping all over themselves not to mention it".

"Get out of my house".

"Something is not right with you and I believe it has everything to do with Klaus…tell me…did he send you here?" Damon advanced on her.

"No".

"You were with him for a year and suddenly he decided to just let you go, who believes that…so either you did something to him or he did something to you!" Damon cornered her.

"Get away from me", Bonnie said looking up at him.

"Did he send you back to pick us all off one by one?" Damon went on, "or was it just me…did he send you back to kill me?"

"Get out!" Bonnie screamed as she held out her hand sending Damon flying up against the wall and down to the floor, "I asked you to get out of my house, now what do I have to do for you to do exactly that?" she asked walking over to him.

Damon jumped up from the floor and pressed her against the wall, "You try to kill me and you act as if I am attacking you, I should rip your heart out right now", he growled at her.

He watched as her eyes glazed over staring into his eyes, "Get your hands off of me", she said in a voice that Damon did not recognize and he found himself flying off of her and onto the floor. He watched as Bonnie moved her head and a piece of the tree outside came flying into the room and into her hand, he tried to move but he was paralyzed in place.

She kneeled down beside him, "I asked you to leave nicely", she said in a lightly deeper voice.

"Bonnie?" Damon asked.

She didn't answer but instead drove the tree branch into his leg, "Leave me alone and stay away from me", the unBonnielike voice hissed at him.

Damon felt his paralysis lift; he pulled the tree branch out as he yelled in pain and fell to his side gasping as he looked up at Bonnie standing over him with her arms crossed, "Stay away", she replied as she walked over him and into the bathroom.

Damon watched as she walked inside and slammed the door. Ok, he was convinced even more now that the person who he had just went toe to toe with was definitely a different (crazy) Bonnie and he was going to find out what the hell was going on.

SSSSS

The next morning, Bonnie stood in front of the charred remains of the witch house, "How did this happen?" she whispered staring at the house, "did I do this?"

The house didn't speak back. How could it? It was destroyed and according to Damon, she did it. But when? Bonnie rubbed her temples as she sat on a rock and looked at the house. She was convinced that she was losing her mind and her time with Klaus had made sure of that…

"_What do you want me to do for you?" Bonnie asked as she sat across from Klaus at dinner one night. She watched as Klaus' servants walked in and out of the dining room placing food in front of her. They were all compelled to do whatever he required of them and if for some reason, they rebelled he would kill them in the most torturous way and make her watch. She would never be able to forget their screams. _

"_Well Bonnie, since you and your friends thwarted my plans to achieve my true being, I need time to rest and come up with a new way to tap into my other side…in the meantime, I think I have a new project"._

"_What project is that?"_

_Klaus smiled as he stood up and walked over to Bonnie, placing his hands on her shoulders sending a shiver down her body, "You are a very powerful witch Bonnie Bennett, you tapped into great power that night during the sacrifice and almost vanquished me…if it weren't for my weak minded brother, you would have done just that…I want to be the most powerful being in this world, but more than that I want to leave a legacy…I mean, I guess I won't be able to live forever…and what better legacy would there be to make a new race of witch-vampire hybrids"._

_Bonnie felt as if she would be sick, "Vampires can't reproduce"._

"_Oh Bonnie, my dear…my love…you're a witch, anything is possible when magic is involved"._

"_I…I don't want that", Bonnie whispered. _

"_Oh really?" Klaus asked as he pulled her up from the chair by her arm and forced her to look directly into his eyes, "you do want that…you want to be with me…you want to help me become the most powerful being this world has ever seen"._

_Bonnie could feel her mind being clouded over, "No…"_

"_Bonnie", he whispered touching her cheek, "what other choice do you have?"_

"What other choice did I have?" she said out loud, "I had no other choice".

SSSSSS

Damon searched all of the old books in the Salvatore library mentioning anything about possessed witches. He remembered the one time that Emily possessed Bonnie and destroyed the amulet, but this time was different. The Bonnie who went crazy on him in her room was different. She looked like Bonnie, sure…but she didn't sound like Bonnie. He flipped through the pages, he wanted some answers. Not sure WHY he wanted these answers, because he definitely had no interest in this witch—Bonnie may have been judgy and uptight, but she was much better than this hybrid that came back.

As he flipped through another useless page, he heard the doorbell ring, "I'm busy, Stefan…get it", he called as he turned a page.

The doorbell rang again.

"Stefan!" Damon called.

When the doorbell began ringing at a steady rate, he rolled his eyes and stood up heading to the door. "What do you want!" he snapped flinging it open to reveal the witch.

"Damon", Bonnie began, "I need to know something".

"Oh no…I'm not helping you, I've had enough of you using me as some kind of punching bag".

"I don't remember doing those things", Bonnie replied, "but if I did, I'm sorry and that's why I need your help".

Damon sighed as he leaned in the doorway, "And what's in it for me?"

"Damon, I went with Stefan to help save your life…Klaus took me because he gave up his blood to save you, I think that you can stop being an ass for a minute and help me".

Damon rolled his eyes, "Fine come in…but no setting me on fire and no stabbing me with wood".

"I promise".

"And does that other part of you promise?" Damon asked.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"Come in", he sighed.

Bonnie walked in as Damon closed the door and made her way towards the library. She observed all of the books on the table, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing", Damon replied quickly closing the books, "now what do you want?"

"I saw the house, it was burned…"

"Yes, I told you that and did you remember doing it?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No…I don't…but as I looked at the house, I knew that I did it".

"Interesting".

Bonnie stood in the middle of the room wringing her hands as Damon watched her, "Look, why are you here Bonnie…I know that you're not just here to stand in the middle of the floor. Maybe you would rather talk to Stefan…"

"No, I want to talk to you", she replied.

"Really?" he chuckled, "that's different".

"You know, you're the only one who hasn't treated me differently since I returned and that means a lot right now".

"That's because you're nuts" Damon answered.

Bonnie looked at him and she smiled, "You may be right", she laughed as the tears sprang to her eyes, "I am completely crazy…there is absolutely nothing normal about me anymore and everyone knows it, they just won't say it…but not you, not you because you are a unapologizing jackass".

"Oh great, you came here to insult me…well…this has been fun but…", Damon replied turning away from her.

"Klaus did horrible things to me…he made me _do_ horrible things…", she began, "and for awhile, I fought it…I thought I could fight him…but as time went on, I began to wear down and I had to find another way to survive".

Damon stopped walking away, but still didn't face her.

"The only way that I could be with him and not want to die…was to section off a part of myself. I begged Emily and my ancestors to help me and eventually they did…maybe a little too late, but they helped me and they told me that I could possibly lose myself, but I didn't care. I just didn't want to know…I didn't want to feel what went on".

Damon turned to look at her as he swallowed. He hated the way she looked standing there in the middle of the room. She looked as if she would break at any moment and he did not want to be the one to pick up the pieces.

"So I would have times when I wouldn't remember what happened…chunks of time would be missing from my life…I had no idea what happened, but I knew that it was a good thing that I didn't remember", she went on, "do you know why I have this scar?" she pointed to her cheek, "Klaus said that it was a love mark and it was the perfect way to let everyone who ever came across us that I was his. You know, he made sure not to give me any of his blood to heal it and by the time he started feeding me his blood, it was too late…when I first saw this scar on my face, I decided that it would be better for Klaus to have a dead witch than any witch at all, so I slit my wrists…"

"I don't want to hear this…maybe you should tell Stefan…" Damon replied becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"No, I can't tell Stefan…he already feels enough guilt…you…you don't care, so this doesn't phase you and I need to tell someone…", she took a deep breath and then she continued, "I slit my wrists and I laid on the bathroom floor waiting and hoping that I would die before Klaus came back. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a bed and Klaus was staring down at me. He told me that he had saved me and he would never allow me to try to leave him again. He told me that if I ever tried that again, he would track every one that I ever gave a damn about down and kill them".

"What…what exactly did he do to you?" Damon choked out as he watched Bonnie's eyes water.

"Damon, Bonnie?" Stefan spoke up from behind them.

Bonnie quickly wiped her eyes, "I have to go…I will see you both later", Bonnie answered quickly and breezed past Damon as he went to reach out for her but stopped.

"What went on here?" Stefan asked looking at Damon.

"Nothing", Damon replied as he looked towards the doorway where Bonnie had disappeared to.

SSSSS

A couple of days later, Bonnie stood staring in the mirror at her house as she heard someone ringing her doorbell, "Bonnie, come on we're going to be late", Caroline called through the door.

Bonnie took a deep breath grabbing her purse and opened the door, "I'm ready and we're not going to be late".

"I want to get there before they sit down for dinner…hey…what's wrong?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing's wrong".

"Yes there is, you're giving me a fake smile…I can tell".

"I'm sorry, it's just hard sometimes for me to build up my excitement for these things…especially, when everyone is watching me as if I am going to break in front of them".

"Well Bonnie, we thought we lost you forever…so it's a little surreal to know that you are here with us again. It was a long year Bonnie and I know…I know that you were the one with a complete psycho, but we missed you a lot and we can't believe that you are here with us…alive", Caroline said as her eyes began to tear, "you are like a sister to me Bonnie".

"I feel the same way and I missed you", Bonnie hugged her, "but I don't want any more tears tonight".

"Ok…no more tears", Caroline replied wiping her eyes, "and guess what, if I can't cry…then you can't frown".

"Ok".

"And you have to let me do something with your hair and put on some make up".

"You want to cover the scar?" Bonnie asked covering her cheek.

"I just want you to be ok, I know that the scar makes you a little self-conscious…so let me help".

Bonnie turned to look at the empty space on the wall where the mirror used to be, "Ok…ok…fine".

"Ok, I am going to make you look outstanding…even more gorgeous than you already are!" Caroline grinned pulling Bonnie up the stairs.

SSSSS

"So she hasn't told you anything about her time with Klaus?" Damon followed Elena around her kitchen as she prepared dinner for the group.

"No, she won't talk about her time with Klaus…why are you asking these questions?" Elena asked.

"Because I think we need to all be on high alert, we still don't know if Bonnie is OK".

"She just went through a horrific ordeal, why would she be the same and when did you start to care?" Elena raised an eyebrow, "when we were all searching for her, you told us that we were wasting our time…so you never cared about Bonnie in the first place, so why now?"

"I helped…did I not compel Mr. Bennett every other week?"

"Oh yes, how could I forget…", Elena rolled her eyes.

"You know what forget it, Bonnie could have been sent back by Klaus to kill us all and you all are ignoring it".

"Damon, please drop this double agent stuff…we are all having dinner tonight and it will be normal and you will be on your best behavior".

"Fine…fine…I will be on my best behavior, but when she totally goes crazy on all of us, I will say I told you so as we're all dying", Damon snapped as he headed into the dining room where Stefan was setting the table, "wow…and how domesticated of you Stefan, setting the table like a good little boyfriend".

"Damon, please I beg of you don't act like an ass during this dinner…this is the first time that we are all together and I had to fight hard to even get you invited".

"Oh…well maybe I should just leave", Damon huffed moving towards the door and flinging it open to see Caroline and Bonnie standing on the porch. His eyes immediately went to Bonnie's and he stood in the doorway.

"God Damon, are you going to move out of the way so we can come in", Caroline sighed as she moved past him into the house.

"Hi", Bonnie replied.

"Hi", he stated as she walked past him and closed the door. Maybe he would stay for awhile.

"I am so hungry!" Caroline replied, "you know a diet of animals is not exactly the best".

"Well we don't have any blood here for you", Jeremy spoke up garnering chuckles from around the room, even Bonnie.

He smiled over at Bonnie as she smiled back at him. It felt good for her to laugh again.

"Did you guys notice how gorgeous Bonnie looks tonight!" Caroline grinned as she held her arms out looking at Bonnie, "I gave her a complete make over".

"You look beautiful", Jeremy said walking over to Bonnie.

"Thanks Jer".

Damon wanted to vomit at how pathetic the kid was. Sure, Bonnie looked great. Caroline had apparently caked on make up to make her scar less noticeable, it was a nice job…he guessed.

"Ok, everyone's here…we can sit down and eat now", Elena smiled

"Yea!" Caroline grinned, "this is just like old times…except with Damon being invited".

"You know what Fangy Barbie, don't start with me", Damon pointed as they took seats.

"Bonnie, I made your favorite…lasagna", Elena grinned.

"Oh I had no idea that this was in honor of me", Bonnie smiled.

"Well we missed you Bon, we just want to let you know that we're happy you're back", Elena touched Bonnie's hand.

"I'm happy to be back, I have to admit I am slowly starting to become myself again and being here with you guys, it's nice".

Damon had to fight to keep his lunch down sitting at this table with all of the goody goodies and their 'you're the bestest' speeches. This is why he hated being around this group, all they did was pat each other on the backs.

After everyone had finished, Bonnie offered to help Elena clean up and as she and Elena cleaned the kitchen, Damon joined Stefan on the living room couch, "So do you think she's back to being normal or whatever normal is for her?" Damon asked.

"I think she is better", Stefan replied, "and are you going to tell me what you two were talking about when I walked into the boarding house that day?"

"Just becoming the great friends that we always were", Damon winked as he stood up and started walking towards the kitchen, but was cut off by Jeremy.

"Stay away from Bonnie", Jeremy warned, "you are nothing but trouble and Bonnie's going through a rough time".

"So noble…it's very admirable especially when she dumped you on your butt", Damon smirked, "excuse me", he replied moving Jeremy out of his way.

"Where's Bonnie?" he asked entering the kitchen.

"She's outside taking out some of the trash and you can help her if you promise not to mess with her", Elena replied handing him a bag.

"Sure", Damon smirked as he headed out of the back door.

He walked down the stairs and found Bonnie standing in front of the trash can just staring up at the sky. "Counting stars?" he asked.

"Elena sent you out here to check on me?" Bonnie asked turning to him.

"Trust me, if she wanted to send someone out here to check on you—it would not be me".

Bonnie smiled.

"Should I run in and add a point to the white board, we're all keeping track of how many times we can make you smile".

"Stop…please", Bonnie shook her head.

"Ok…fine…put this in the trash can and I'm going to go back in the house before we get a little too mushy out here", Damon said handing her the bag and heading towards the backdoor, "but, I do want you to know that…I am aware that you were only at Klaus' place because Stefan asked you to help and you said yes. I know that you wanted to help save me, despite all that I did…and all I can say to you is, thank you".

Bonnie looked at Damon and nodded as he disappeared into the house. She looked up at the stars and for the first time in a long time she smiled and it was natural.

**Damon made her smile? Could this be the beginning of a friendship?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello All! Thank you once again for all of your reviews and comments. I appreciate them!**

**Bonnie and Damon are definitely sparking up something, the only question is...where will it lead?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Chapter 4

Sitting in her bedroom days later, Bonnie shakily stuck her hand out as her hair brush guided across the room and landed in front of her. She smiled slightly as she lifted her hand again sending the brush floating back across the room. Since waking up in her bed, she had not tried any spells or read any grimoires. She honestly had no interest in being a witch anymore after her experience with Klaus. However, she knew that there was no way that she could ever turn her back on being a witch, it was a part of her and no matter what she did—it would live in her forever.

"_I will not tolerate disobedience!" Klaus roared across the room at the frightened maidservant cowering in the doorway. _

_Bonnie looked over at Cassandra and tried to let her know that everything would be ok. Cassandra was Bonnie's age and often she would take breaks and speak with Bonnie discussing silly things like what was going on in the world of Brad and Angelina. Spending time with Cassandra made Bonnie almost forget that she was a prisoner. _

"_I am sorry Klaus, I…I…I could not get the herbs that you wanted, they did not have them at the market"._

"_Then you should have went to another one", he replied and turned to Bonnie, "Bonnie, paralyze her"._

_Bonnie moved closer to Klaus, "Klaus, Cassandra made a mistake…she can just go back"._

"_Bonnie, are you disobeying me as well?" Klaus turned to her. _

_Bonnie looked over at Cassandra who stood in the corner with tears in her eyes awaiting her punishment, "Klaus, I will get the herbs for you", Bonnie walked over to him, "I promise"._

_Klaus turned to Bonnie and smiled, "That is what I love most about you my dear, your willingness to defend all small creatures"._

_Before Bonnie could blink, Klaus rushed over to Cassandra and twisted her neck in an unnatural way sending her crashing into a heap onto the floor. Bonnie cried out and looked at Klaus, Cassandra had been a friend to her while she was trapped in the house with the monster. She narrowed her eyes and she looked towards the table. Klaus looked at her and smiled as Bonnie rose every knife on the table, "She never did anything but obey your every command!" Bonnie hissed as she pushed her arms out and every knife on the table flew into Klaus pinning him against the wall. _

_She took pleasure in hearing him scream in pain as he removed the knives from his body, "Oh Bonnie, you are becoming more and more what I want you to be", Klaus smirked as he removed his body from the wall. _

_She backed away from him as she started to run out of the room, but then was stopped, as Klaus grabbed her from behind, "Oh Bonnie, I'm an Original…have you not learned that I can control you whenever I want. You are my perfect little doll…you think you have the power, but you don't. Whatever you do to me is only because I allow you to do it. You will never be able to defeat me", he turned her to face him, "now, if you had just paralyzed Cassandra like I asked you to, she wouldn't be dead right now"._

_Bonnie looked over at Cassandra lying on the floor, "You really should apologize to me", Klaus purred in Bonnie's ear. _

_Bonnie looked into Klaus eyes and she spat in his face, "That's my apology", she stated defiantly. _

_Klaus glared at her as he wiped his face. _

Bonnie shook her head to wipe the memory away as she felt a breeze in her room. She looked towards the window and saw Damon standing in the middle of her room.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" she asked standing up from the bed.

"You know, I really don't know".

"Ok…well maybe you should leave then", Bonnie replied.

Damon studied her for a few moments, "You know, Stefan interrupted us the other day…what were you going to say?"

"Damon, why do you care…we're not really friends…I know that, you know that".

"The other day we were bonding and now we're not friends…Bonnie, you were gone for a year, I have changed a little".

"Oh really?" she raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "in what way".

"Well I'm not pursuing Elena anymore".

"You're not pursuing your brother's girlfriend…wow…that is a step in the right direction", Bonnie snickered.

"Annnnnd…", Damon pointed at her, "annnndddd…I only drink blood from the blood bank".

"Really?"

"Ok, at least 5 times a week…I eat out on the weekends", Damon added.

Bonnie laughed.

"I'm serious".

"I believe you, only you would want kudos for feeding on a human being only two days out of a week".

"But the point is, I am different since the wolf bite and all that jazz".

"I guess we both are", Bonnie replied.

"So there is one question that you have to answer…"

"What?"

"Where is Klaus?"

"I don't want to talk about Klaus", Bonnie answered quickly.

"I didn't ask you to talk about him, I just want to know if he's dead or not".

"Where's Katherine?" Bonnie asked looking at him changing the subject.

"Katherine took off a couple of weeks after Klaus took off of with you. We don't know where she is and really, we don't care".

"So she's out there somewhere lurking…probably turning poor brothers against each other…"

"Not my problem", Damon said looking over at the pictures on Bonnie's dresser.

"Interesting…"

"So answer my question, where is Klaus?" he turned back to her.

"I don't know".

"What do you mean you don't know, you spent every day with him for a year!" Damon walked over to her, "so where is he…where did you see him last?"

"I don't remember".

"Here we go with that again, why is it you don't remember?" Damon asked, "is it because he compelled you to?"

"He didn't compel me, I asked the dead witches to help me and I guess they did a spell or something…"

"What kind of spell".

"I told you that I had to section myself off in my mind when I was with Klaus, I don't know exactly what they did, but I forget some things and I don't remember how I got from where Klaus had me to Mystic Falls".

"So when you tried to set me on fire, was that during one of your blackouts?" Damon asked.

"I guess".

"Why…why would you want to set me on fire, what did I do you?"

Bonnie looked at Damon.

"Ok, what did I do to you before you disappeared with Klaus?"

"Nothing…I don't know".

"You are not giving up any answers here Bonnie, you don't know where Klaus is…you don't know why you tried to kill me…what do you know?"

"I know that I just want to put the entire Klaus thing behind me".

"How can you do that if he's still out there somewhere?"

"He's not".

"What makes you so sure…I mean, he could be anywhere…he could be looking for you. He took you for a reason…did you complete whatever task that he wanted you to do?" Damon asked.

"No".

"Then he could still be out there and he could still be a danger to us all, do you know where he kept you…where you were for the year, we could go there and see…"

"I'm not going back there", Bonnie interrupted him.

"Bonnie, you are the only person who knows where he could be…you owe it to us to…"

"I owe you what?" Bonnie asked looking at him feeling a barrage of anger creep up on her, "I don't owe you or anyone else in Mystic Falls anything. I spent most of my life last year trying to protect everyone in this town…I was willing to sacrifice my life for everyone here and what happened…what happened in the end…no one sacrificed themselves for me!" Bonnie screamed, "I was taken…I was kidnapped…and you all sat here in Mystic Falls doing nothing!"

"Stefan and Elena searched for you…"

"But they never found me! You guys sat back and allowed me to be with him for a year…an entire year where he used me and treated me like a toy!"

"Bonnie, we did all that we could", Damon spoke up.

"_We_…what did _you_ do Damon…this all started because of you…even though you were a selfish bastard that only cared about himself, I believed Stefan when he said that you were his brother and you didn't deserve to be punished and die…I believed him and I wanted to help, I decided to help and you want to tell me what Stefan and Elena did…this was all because of you!"

"I know that! Don't you think I know that! Stefan, Elena, Caroline, Jeremy…they never let me forget that if you were not there to help get Klaus' blood, you would have been here…I know that Bonnie and that is why I went to that damn house every day where your ancestors made sure to let me know that I was not wanted there and I begged Emily to tell me where you were and she refused! So yes, Bonnie…I do know that I was one of the reasons why you were there when Klaus got that brilliant plan in his head, but know this…I tried to help", Damon looked down at her.

Bonnie felt some of her anger die down. Damon went to the house to beg Emily to him find her…Damon? "You went to the house?"

"Yes and your ancestors were not the most appreciative of my efforts".

"They don't like you", Bonnie chuckled a little wiping her eyes.

"I think I know that, it must run in the Bennett blood or something", Damon smirked.

"Yeah", Bonnie smiled slightly.

"Well if you say you don't know where Klaus is, I guess I have to believe you", Damon sighed walking towards the window.

Bonnie watched his back as she stuck her hands in her jeans pockets, "Just give me a couple of days and I will try to remember something about where Klaus is…ok".

Damon turned to Bonnie and nodded, "Ok", he replied before disappearing out of her window.

Bonnie had no idea where that anger came from and it scared her a little. She was afraid that the part of her that the witches had developed had been left with Klaus. Everything she said to Damon had been bubbling inside of her for over a year, but she was shocked that she said it to him.

Bonnie slid off of her bed and looked in the mirror touching her scar. She placed both of her hands on the dresser and looked closely into the mirror, "Are you still there?" she whispered.

"Always", her reflection answered back with a smirk.

Bonnie gasped as she backed up and covered her mouth.

SSSSS

Damon walked over the charred remains of the witch house and stood in the middle of the foundation. "What the hell Emily…I need some answers because Bonnie refuses to answer me", Damon turned around, "do we need to worry about Klaus…is he still alive…is he coming after us?"

Silence.

"Damn it Emily! I know that you must know that your…that Bonnie is completely out of her mind and she suffered because of him. Don't you want me to find him and make sure that he pays for what he did to one of your own?"

"She's not going to answer you", a voice said from behind him.

Damon turned around and stepped back for a moment, Bonnie was standing in front of him; however, she was not the upset little witch he left at the Bennett house, this person standing in front of him was the person that he saw that night in the woods and the one in Bonnie's bedroom who stabbed him in the leg.

"Bonnie…or whoever you are", Damon greeted her.

"I'm Bonnie, you can feel free to call me that".

"Can I? Because I just left Bonnie in her bedroom and she didn't look like a T-Bird's girlfriend from Grease", Damon said looking at her in the tightest black jeans and a black t-shirt…she looked hot, too bad he was convinced she was nuts and well…she was Bonnie.

Bonnie chuckled and then frowned, "I want you to stop asking about Klaus".

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Because it can bring nothing but pain".

"Pain to who?"

Bonnie looked around, "Everyone".

"Tell me…what are you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Do you know how much power that needed to be harvested in order to defeat Klaus so that we could get rid of him after the sacrifice…a lot…do you know what happens to witches when they have a lot of power?"

"They torture people with them?"

"They go on emotional overload".

"So are you telling me that Bonnie split into two different personalities because of the power?"

"No, what I am telling you is that when Klaus took me I was already weak…when he kidnapped me and worked on breaking every part of me emotionally…I was dying…I begged Emily and all of those other Bennetts to help, so they did…for a price…sure they never took me out of the situation", Bonnie walked around the charred house looking around in disdain, "no…they just helped me _cope_…they helped me cope by splitting me in two. The normal part of me handles the everyday things, when things start to become too much…when people question me about Klaus, for example…that's when another part of me takes over, the part of me that can handle the tough stuff".

"So what…you protect Bonnie because between me and you, you are nothing like her and I refuse to call you by that name…so you protect Bonnie when things go bad?"

"Something like that".

"So why did you attack me that night in the woods".

"Because you're to blame", she answered simply, "and you remind me of him".

"I am not Klaus and what do you blame me for, I didn't ask Bonnie to help".

"Sure…but I wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for you and yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that I went because I like to be a goody goody…but you were the reason for me being there when Klaus snatched me away, but I realize that I cannot try to kill you anymore…so I apologize for setting you on fire".

"Thanks", Damon deadpanned.

"But I am serious, stop asking about Klaus or else", Bonnie replied

"What does or else mean?" Damon smirked.

"It means…", Bonnie smiled as she walked over to him, touched his cheek and moved close to him, "you will experience once again what kind of witch Klaus has made me".

Damon stared into Bonnie's emerald eyes as she smirked at him and began walking away.

"What did he do to you!" Damon called from behind her.

"You don't really want to know", Bonnie answered walking away from the remains of the house.

SSSSS

Bonnie tossed and turned in bed as she felt a breeze in her room causing her to sit up. She looked around the room and she saw Damon standing at the foot of her bed. "Damon", she breathed.

"Do you remember being at the witch house tonight with me?" he asked.

"No".

"Then we have a huge problem then", Damon replied and before Bonnie could blink he disappeared out of the room.

**Should Damon listen to the Other Bonnie?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all for your comments and reviews! They make this fic worth writing. I am slowly chipping away at the Klaus/Bonnie mystery, so this chapter is one that pushes the questions a little further. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 5

"What do you guys think about this dress?" Caroline asked holding a lilac sun dress in front of her body as Elena and Bonnie sat on her bed a few days later.

"I like it, where are you and Matt going?" Elena asked as she took some chips from the bowl between her and Bonnie.

"I don't know, Matt says it's a surprise and I am happy about it", Caroline beamed.

"I'm happy that you and Matt fixed whatever was wrong", Bonnie smiled.

"So am I…", Caroline grinned.

Bonnie looked around the room and sighed, "Do you guys think that I am that different?"

"What…no…I mean, I know you are still dealing with whatever happened while you were away, but you are slowly getting back to yourself", Caroline smiled sitting down on the bed.

"Yes Bon, we don't expect you to be back to normal just yet…but we are just happy to have you back and that's all that matters", Elena said wrapping her arm around Bonnie.

"Is that really all that matters…don't you both want to know what happened to me while I was gone?" Bonnie asked.

Caroline and Elena exchanged looks, "Well Bonnie, we don't want to push you".

"Oh but pushing me to perform all my magic tricks was no big deal", Bonnie snapped as her entire demeanor changed.

"Bonnie, you said you didn't want to talk about what happened with Klaus", Elena defended.

"Oh right…you're right…I said I didn't want to talk about it and you guys didn't think that it was weird and maybe I needed you to push a little more?"

"Bonnie, I don't understand…", Caroline frowned.

Bonnie got up from the bed, "What I am saying is that maybe I need my friends to act as if they care and that they know that I am barely keeping it together".

"Bonnie, we're sorry…"

"Yes, everyone's sorry…Stefan's sorry…Damon's sorry…Jeremy's sorry…you two are sorry…I'm sorry too…I need to go".

"Bonnie…stop…talk", Elena grabbed her arm.

"No…no…I don't want to talk", Bonnie said leaving Caroline's room.

Elena looked at Caroline, "What just happened here?"

"I don't know", Caroline shook her head, "I mean, I want to ask her about what happened with Klaus, but I can tell that she's trying to hold it together…I can hear her heartbeat and how it speeds up at times as if she's afraid…I don't know, I don't know what to do".

"Stefan says that Damon has been spending time with her".

"Then that's the problem then, Damon needs to stay away".

"I don't think that he's the problem, I think that he's actually trying to help. Stefan also told me that Damon used to visit the old house where the witches were burned every day trying to get an answer from Emily as to where Bonnie was".

"So Damon is trying to help…things must be really bad then", Caroline frowned.

Elena nodded, "Maybe we should do something".

"But what can we do?"

"I have an idea", Elena smiled.

SSSSS

Bonnie rose her fist to knock on the Salvatore boarding house door and then stopped. She wasn't sure why she was there exactly or why she exploded on Elena and Caroline. There were so many emotions whirling around in her head that she desperately wanted to stop the world from turning for one moment so she could understand the person that she was now.

"Are you going to knock?" Damon's voice came from behind her.

Bonnie turned around, "I'm building myself up to".

"Here to see Stefan?"

"No, I'm here to see you…I want to tell you…I want to tell you to stop coming to my house".

Damon walked up the stairs to stand in front of her, "Really?"

"Yes…stop it".

"Ok".

"I mean it Damon".

"Why do you mean it Bonnie?" Damon asked.

"Because…"

"Because what…am I causing you to start to ask yourself some questions? Like what happens when Other Bonnie comes to play?"

"Other Bonnie?"

"Yes, the other night…I was at the witch's house trying to get answers and you showed up…you told me to stop asking about Klaus because it would bring pain to everyone".

"I don't understand".

"Well you weren't exactly into explaining either…apparently Other Bonnie doesn't feel as if she needs to explain herself".

"This doesn't make any sense", Bonnie shook her head leaning against the railing.

"She told me that she comes around when you can't handle whatever's going on…I have to believe that she hung out with Klaus a lot".

"I begged them for help and I guess she was the result", Bonnie whispered.

"Yes, but what she is doing is keeping us from finding out where Klaus is".

"If I'm here, that means Klaus must be gone…he would never let me go…he would never just let me come back here", Bonnie said.

"Unless there is a reason for that…either he's dead or he had you come back for a reason".

Bonnie turned to Damon, "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know what the other side of you does, what if Klaus knew that and brought you back here so that you could take us out one by one".

"I would never do that", Bonnie shook her head feverishly, "no…no…I would never do that".

"Not you, but that witch I met last night…I think she could and would".

Bonnie closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"Bonnie, if we could just find out where you were and if Klaus is there dead…we know that at the very least, he's not a direct problem".

"I could do a spell, I guess".

"Do you know a spell to jog your memory?" Damon asked.

"No, but I can look in the grimoire and see…"

"Do that and when you find out where the place is, I will come with".

Bonnie looked at Damon with a raised eyebrow, "Why are you so interested?"

"Well I don't want to die any time soon, so why not".

"There's a reason why I don't remember where the place is Damon", Bonnie replied.

"You're a strong one Bennett, so I doubt anything that you find out will destroy you".

Bonnie nodded as she walked down the stairs, "I will let you know when I find the spell".

"Good", Damon smirked as Bonnie headed towards her car.

Damon watched her get in the car and drive away. He wasn't sure if he felt a little bad for basically pushing Bonnie to find out where she was held or where Klaus was. Sure, Other Bonnie warned him about pushing her; but he didn't like Other Bonnie. She was unpredictable and mean and besides all of that, she tried to kill him. Bonnie would be ok; in fact, finding out where Klaus was would help her. If Klaus was in fact dead, Bonnie could be able to heal from whatever he did to her.

"What are you doing out here?" Stefan asked walking towards the house from the woods.

"Did you leave Bambi's mother out there to be found by poor Bambi", Damon smirked.

"Damon…"

"Bonnie just left".

"What is going on with you two?" Stefan asked folding his arms and looking at Damon.

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been spending time with her…I assume that you know something about what happened with Klaus…"

"I don't know anything about what happened with Klaus, Bonnie hasn't shared that with me".

"Really? Then what have you two been talking about?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Ok, apparently Klaus did some bad things to her…things I pray she never tells me about because I _really_ don't want to know, but he did some things and apparently she begged for help from the witches. They helped her by basically giving her a split personality…the crazy one…yes, the one who tried to kill me and that one keeps all kinds of secrets, including the knowledge of whether or not Klaus is dead".

"So what are you trying to get Bonnie to do".

"Me…nothing…"

"Damon", Stefan narrowed his eyes and moved closer.

"What…Stefan, Bonnie barely likes me and her other half sure as hell doesn't like me…so why would she do anything for me and vice versa?" Damon asked.

"Bonnie is fragile right now, if you are pushing her…"

"Stefan lay off, I know you feel all guilty for what Klaus did to Bonnie and you should…you most definitely should…but I'm not doing anything to her or asking her to do anything".

"Ok, if I find out that you are…"

"Save it Animal Killer, Bonnie is safe from me", Damon promised.

Stefan rolled his eyes as he headed in the house leaving Damon outside on the porch.

SSSSSS

Bonnie flipped the pages in the grimoire trying to find anything that would help her figure out where Klaus kept her. She closed her eyes as she pictured the house. It was a large Victorian house surrounded by…nothing. "Why can't I remember?" she mumbled as she rubbed her temples.

"Because you don't want to", a voice said in front of her.

Bonnie opened her eyes and looked in the mirror in front of her bed. She was standing in the mirror looking at her with hard eyes.

"Who are you?" Bonnie asked sliding off of the bed.

"I'm you".

"Am I going crazy?"

"Crazy…I'm here to keep you from going crazy".

"Sane people do not see visions of themselves in the mirror talking to them", Bonnie answered walking away.

"Well those people didn't live in a house with a psycho vampire for a year ".

Bonnie turned back to the mirror, "What else did Klaus do to me, I know what happened that night, but I know that something is definitely missing".

Her reflection looked back at her, "You don't want to know".

Bonnie walked up to the mirror, "I do want to know, that's the reason why I feel as if a piece of me is missing. I don't remember chunks of time, that is a problem".

"That's not why you feel like a piece of you is missing…a piece of you did disappear when you were with Klaus".

"What else happened?" Bonnie asked frustrated.

"Bonnie?" Elena's voice said on the other side of the door.

Bonnie turned to the mirror where it was only her own reflection looking back at her.

"Elena", Bonnie said walking over to the door and opening it, "how did you get in?"

"I remember the key in the angel outside of the front door, I felt bad about earlier today and I wanted to come see you and talk".

"I'm sorry about going off on you and Caroline, I don't know what came over me".

"You went through a lot, it's understandable if you can't put on a happy face all the time", Elena walked over to the bed with Bonnie and sat down, "so I want you to talk to me, let it all out please".

"Elena, it's not that easy".

"I know, but I am here and I want to hear everything. I know that before everything happened that I wasn't the best friend that I should have been…we were all so caught up in trying to stop Klaus, that I never got to talk to you about what would happen to you if you went after Klaus. I know that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me and I appreciate it…I love you like a sister".

Bonnie wiped the tears that had started to fall and Elena did the same, "Even though I broke up with your brother".

"Even though you broke up with my brother, it's ok", Elena laughed, "so tell me, what happened when you were away…you don't have to hold it in Bonnie".

"I don't know", Bonnie answered honestly.

"But why…did you forget?"

"Not so much forgot, but blocked it out…if that makes sense".

"Does this have something to do with the fact that you don't remember seeing Damon in the woods that night?" Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded, "Klaus...you know, we heard soo much Klaus and my interaction was mostly using my powers to incapacitate him, I never saw how depraved and evil he was up close; but I saw plenty of it over the year. From what I can remember, he would threaten me…he told me that if I ever tried to leave or if I tried to harm him…and I did multiple times harm him, he would track down every one that I cared about and kill them".

"Oh my god…", Elena gasped.

"He had servants…he would torture them if for some reason their compulsion wore off…he killed one who was my friend in front of my face, he would make me do little things for him…cast spells to help him get money from places, to create illusions to lure them into his web..."

"But what did he do to you?" Elena asked, "other than the threats".

"He did things that I really don't want to remember…I know what he wanted…" Bonnie said looking out towards the window.

"What did he want?" Elena asked looking at her.

Bonnie looked at Elena as she felt the familiar feeling of coldness come over her whenever she remembered Klaus telling her his plan, "He wanted to create some kind of witch-vampire hybrid with me".

"How…with some kind of magic?" Elena asked.

Bonnie shook her head, "Not exactly".

"Then what…no…that's not possible…I mean, is it?" Elena gasped.

Bonnie couldn't answer as she hiccupped and Elena grabbed her as tears fell from her own eyes, "It's ok…it's ok Bonnie".

"But to be honest with you, I don't know if it is…but I don't remember a lot of my time with Klaus, so…" Bonnie wiped her tears as she sat back.

"Do you think you will ever remember?"

"Well, I begged my ancestors to help me…to get me out of the situation and they did, they kind of split me in two".

"What do you mean?"

"Well when Damon said I attacked him in the woods, it was true…I don't remember it happening, but I know I did it, there's a part of me that I can't tap into and I can't control…she is what my ancestors came up with to help me when I was kidnapped by Klaus and to cope with whatever he did".

"But…who is she…is it like when Emily possessed you?"

"No…at least I don't think so, I guess she's me…or a part of me…I don't know, I don't really understand it myself".

"But what does she do?" Elena asked.

"Protect me?" Bonnie shrugged.

"But she tried to kill Damon…why?"

"Because I guess that part of me blames Damon for what happened".

"That _part _of you…do you?" Elena asked.

"No…I made a choice to go with Stefan that night".

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Elena…I am sure…I don't know why she blames Damon".

"Well…you and Damon have spent a lot of time together since you've been back, what's going on there?" Elena asked.

"Nothing…he's been…Damon and you know how he can be".

"I do know and that's why I want to make sure that you are ok with him being around you".

"I am…is there something I don't know?" Bonnie searched Elena's eyes.

Elena closed her eyes and took deep breath as Bonnie braced herself, "After the wolf bite and when Damon thought he was dying, we almost kissed. After that, I found myself a little torn…"

"Torn…torn between who, Damon and Stefan?"

Elena frowned and slowly nodded.

"How is that even possible?" Bonnie laughed. It was just so ridiculous that she _had_to laugh, "Stefan is nice, loyal…sweet…he's selfless and Damon is rude…sometimes loyal…and can be psycho".

"I know that…I know…I don't know what happened, I just had some moments when I was weak and thinking of other possibilities. You were gone, I was trying to adjust not having Jenna around…Jeremy was a mess…things were complicated".

Bonnie began to laugh covering her face, "You are completely ridiculous".

"Bonnie?" Elena asked.

Bonnie raised her eyes and Elena was a little taken back, they were different in a way, "You honestly expect me to believe that you only went after Damon because everything was different…everything was going wrong…things were bad for you?" Bonnie asked standing up from the bed as Elena watched her with wide eyes, "no, you wanted to see what things would be like on the bad side and Damon was the perfect person…and you had your chance and let me guess, Stefan understood because you were going through _so so_ much".

"That is not it", Elena said standing up.

"Oh no, that's not it…I think it is…I remember clearly how everyone was so worried about saving you during the sacrifice, the hell with everyone else…Caroline…Tyler…all collateral damage if they were sacrificed, but you Elena…the perfect one…everyone was willing to give up their lives for you…even me…even Stefan…what fools we were", Bonnie chuckled shaking her head.

"You are not Bonnie", Elena said as she began to cry.

"Oh, but I am…I'm just the part of Bonnie that doesn't believe in that sister crap with you", Bonnie spat out.

"You're hurtful, you could never be Bonnie", Elena snapped.

"Oh I am Bonnie, the one who doesn't sit back and play side kick with a smile and a spell", Bonnie snapped back.

"I think I'm going to go", Elena said grabbing her bag off of the bed.

"Bye!" Bonnie waved with a smile as Elena stomped out of the room. She turned to the mirror, "No loss there".

**Other Bonnie is soo mean, but it appears that Damon has pushed Bonnie to try to figure out what happened. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you all for your reviews...this fic is just chugging along and I am starting to LOVE it! Other Bonnie is just fun, she says what she wants and does what she wants. Good times. As for Klaus and his plan for a hybrid...would it also be a werewolf? Perhaps. I think everyone who has missed the Bamon interaction will love what's coming up. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**.

Chapter 6

"Now what shall I do now?" Bonnie paced around her room after Elena stormed out. She had no idea why Elena disliked hearing the truth so much. It was only right.

Bonnie plopped down on the bed and began humming a tune. She needed to work on staying in control of the body at this point. She could feel Damon breaking down every single restraint that her other part had. One thing that she was sure of, they could not go back to that house. She had worked too hard to keep Bonnie safe.

She had to admit that Damon had shown some kindness to her at times and he didn't deserve to die as she previously thought. In addition, he could be kind of cute when he wasn't being a complete jackass. However, that was definitely not on the menu—especially since he spends most of his time following Elena around with puppy dog eyes.

Bonnie picked up a copy of a Cosmo on her nightstand as the doorbell rang. She rolled her eyes, "A visitor…great", she sighed standing up and heading downstairs.

As she made her way downstairs, she could feel the energy outside—vampire. She walked up to the door and peered out…oh she had been waiting for this one.

"Stefan, what do I owe this honor to?" she smiled as she opened the door.

"I know Elena was stopping over and I wanted to come by too, I just wanted to talk to you because we haven't had much time to talk since you came back".

"Oh and what would we need to talk about?" Bonnie folded her arms as she walked in and he followed.

"Well I just want to apologize again. I should have known that Klaus was untrustworthy when we went to see him and I should have never asked you to come", Stefan apologized as they sat down on the couch.

"Well I remember telling you that we could not trust him and you didn't believe me, so I guess the joke was on me…huh".

"Bonnie, I looked for you…you have to know that".

"So Elena said, but was that before or after you found out that your brother and your girlfriend were sneaking around behind your back, because I would understand if that kind of detoured your search".

Stefan looked over, "Are you the one who set Damon on fire?"

Bonnie smiled and shrugged, "Guilty as charged".

"Where's Bonnie?" Stefan stood up.

"I'm right here Stefan, can't you tell?"

"No you're really not, I know who Bonnie Bennett is and you are not her".

"Oh really….do you really know anyone Stefan, did you know that your girlfriend was some flaky girl that would cheat on you with you're no good brother".

"That's not what happened".

"Oh right, she was _torn_…whatever that means…Stefan, you deserve soo much better than them", Bonnie said as she moved closer to Stefan and he looked at her.

"That's not what exactly happened", Stefan answered.

"Have you ever thought about giving Elena a taste of her own medicine", Bonnie whispered touching his cheek forcing him to look at her, "make her wonder how much you care about her?"

"Bonnie", Stefan said removing her hand from her cheek and standing up, "I know that this is not the real you".

"This is me", she stood up and wrapped her arms around him, "I don't understand why no one else understands that…just consider me the Bonnie off her nice pills", she moved closer as she positioned herself to kiss him, but Stefan pushed her away causing her to fall to the floor.

Immediately he was by her side, "Bonnie…I'm sorry…I didn't mean for it to…"

"Get off of me!" she pushed him, "get out…I don't even know why you're here…if you came here to tell me how sorry you are and try to see if I will forgive you, then fine…I forgive you for allowing me to take your place with Klaus…are you happy?

"Bonnie, I don't know what happened but…"

"Just go Stefan, go to Elena and you two can commiserate on her bad I am and how you wish that I wouldn't come out top play so you two can continue to use me for my witchy gifts and tell me how sorry you are to make me feel better…but you know what, no matter how many sorries I get from you all, nothing will change what happened…now get out of my house".

Stefan looked at the Bonnie standing in front of him, shook his head and walked out of the open door.

SSSSSS

"She was completely different, that person in that room was not Bonnie," Elena paced back and forth in front of Damon in the Salvatore living room.

"What were you talking about?" Damon asked.

"We were speaking of her time with Klaus", Elena answered.

"And let me guess, the Bitch came out", Damon replied.

"Don't call her that, but yes…Bonnie did seem different".

"Yes, she doesn't exactly like when people ask Bonnie questions about Klaus", Damon went on, "did she try to kill you?"

"No she didn't try to kill me", Elena replied, "she just said some hurtful things, things Bonnie would never say".

"Yeah, she's special that way".

"She has definitely changed", Stefan spoke up entering the living room.

"Stefan, where were you?" Elena asked rushing over to him.

"I went to see Bonnie, I wanted to catch you while you were still there…suffice to say, I met the Other Bonnie and she's definitely not the person we know".

"And she came from out of no where, one moment we were talking and the next…"

"What were you talking about?" Stefan asked.

Elena looked into Stefan's eyes and closed her mouth. Stefan had been hurt by the mere idea that she would care about Damon more than just a friend, they spent months trying to get past it. There were times when they were searching for Bonnie that they would barely speak and she wasn't crazy about bringing up any of those memories.

"We were just talking about her time with Klaus and what he wanted from her, I believe that Klaus did something to Bonnie and that's why she's acting that way", Elena frowned.

"Well what can we do? " Stefan offered, "I don't think its best for me to speak with her again".

"Oh no Brother, did she try to set you on fire?" Damon smirked.

"No, I just think she doesn't care for me much…the Other Bonnie that is".

"I will speak with her then, we have an understanding", Damon smiled.

"What kind of understanding?" Stefan asked.

"Relax, relax…nothing dramatic, she's not trying to kill me anymore".

"Damon, there has to be a reason why the witches brought out that other personality or whatever in Bonnie and I just…I'm afraid of what may be the reason behind it", Elena sighed, "I don't want this person pushing everyone away and Bonnie won't have anyone left".

"Listen, Bonnie will be ok…soon, she will come back as the same lovely friend that she was before Klaus took her".

"Back…where are you going?" Stefan advanced on him.

"Nowhere, thank you and now it is Saturday and I have a date with a co-ed…Felicia…I will see you all later", Damon smiled as he walked out of the living room.

As he walked towards the door, he could hear Stefan and Elena whispering about what he was doing with Bonnie and whether Elena could trust him with Bonnie—Stefan was actually on his side and said that he believed that Damon felt as if he owed Bonnie something and they could trust him.

He had to admit he did not believe what Elena said to Stefan. There had to be another reason why Other Bonnie came out in Elena's presence and he was curious to know exactly what they said to each other. After his date with Felicia, he would definitely stop by Bonnie's.

SSSSS

Bonnie opened her eyes and looked around her room, "Elena?" she whispered.

The last thing she remembered was talking with Elena and then it was empty. She stood up and turned on the light in her room walking over to the mirror, "Where are you?" she asked.

Her reflection stared back at her.

"Show up…now", Bonnie replied, "I know you are there…so you face me now".

"What do you want?" her reflection answered her.

"Where did Elena go?"

"Elena ran off when I didn't coddle her and tell her that she never does anything wrong".

"What?" Bonnie gasped, "what did you say to her".

"She told me that she had some sort of affair with Damon while we were fighting for our life with Klaus and she wanted me to feel sorry for her…I told her that she enjoyed being with both of the brothers and I couldn't spare any sympathy for her and then Stefan came and he turned us down".

Bonnie closed her eyes, "I cannot believe you said those things to Elena, she's my best friend…she's like a sister to me and what did you say or do to Stefan, what do you mean he turned us down?"

"Oh please do not start with that like a sister stuff with Elena, if it were not for Elena, we would have never been in that house. Elena brought Stefan and Damon into our life…we were a cheerleader…we were happy, we had Grams…we had a good life and then she brought the Salvatores in our life and what happened…what happened, Bonnie? And as for Stefan, I tried to give him another option. Look, we went throw hell because of Elena, Stefan and Damon…and what was that hell Bonnie, you like to act as if you've forgotten…but you haven't".

"You know I don't know the answer to that", Bonnie said staring back at her reflection.

"Because you don't _want_ to know the answer, that's why I'm here...that's why you begged your ancestors for me…"

"I never begged them for someone who doesn't care about anything or anyone", Bonnie argued.

"I care about you and that is the only person I am required to care about, maybe if you took a lesson from me, you wouldn't have needed me to help".

"Well I'm not with Klaus anymore, so I don't need you so go…disappear…I don't want you showing up anymore ruining my life", Bonnie fired back at her reflection.

"The only reason you have a life is because of me!" her reflection shouted at her, "when you couldn't handle what was going on, I took over!"

"Well I can handle it now", Bonnie replied, "so disappear…go…I don't want you anywhere near me ever again!"

"Oh you will need me…the question is…will I be there when you need me?" her reflection asked before disappearing leaving Bonnie staring back at her exhausted eyes.

Bonnie turned around determined grabbing the grimoire off the floor. She closed her eyes and held her hands over the book as she began to chant. As she continued to chant and closed her eyes tighter, she heard the pages start to turn in the grimoire and felt heat as she opened her eyes and she saw the book glowing as the pages turned rapidly.

When she opened her eyes and looked down, she was face to face with a location spell that appeared that it would work. "Thank you", she whispered as she began reading the spell.

SSSSSS

"I thought you were coming back to my place", the amazingly beautiful Felicia whined between kisses as they leaned up against his car.

"No need for that", Damon whispered as his fangs descended and he got ready to sink them into Felicia's ivory skin—just as his cell phone began to ring, "damn it".

"Ignore it", she whispered as he felt her hands travel up his chest.

Damon sighed as he removed his phone from his pocket and looked down, The Witch was blinking on the screen, "Hold on for one moment", he replied answering the call, "what is it Witch…I'm busy".

"I know where I was held with Klaus", she said on the other line.

"I will be at your house in 30 minutes", he replied ending the call.

"Wait…where are you going?" Felicia asked as she looked up at Damon.

"That is none of your concern", he answered sinking his teeth into her neck and dulling her screams with his hand.

SSSSS

Bonnie sat on her bag taping her foot with her duffel bag beside her. An hour had drifted by since she called Damon and he was nowhere to be found. Maybe she should just call him and tell him forget it. If Klaus was alive, he would have come for her already—he promised that…

"_Bonnie, still not speaking to me after Cassandra's untimely demise?" Klaus asked walking into Bonnie's bedroom as she sat in the window seat staring out of the window. _

_She ignored him as she continued to make a feather float around in front of her. _

"_You now Bonnie, I asked you to complete a task for me a couple of weeks ago and I have heard nothing from you"._

"_What are you talking about?" she snapped looking at him. _

"_Bonnie, have you cast the spell yet…"_

"_What spell?"_

"_The one that will help us create our child", he smiled. _

"_There is no spell". _

"_Oh I believe there is, you see…I have spent a lot of time with witches and one of them told me there is indeed a spell that makes it possible for a vampire to reproduce with another supernatural being…now, is there a reason why you are lying to me?" he asked walking closer to her. _

"_I am not lying, I do not know a spell"._

"_I believe you are lying to me"._

"_Believe what you want, I don't know of any spell and even I did, I would __**never**_ _tell you anything about it!" Bonnie screamed at him, "I hate you!"_

"_You hate me now, but you will love me by the end of this"._

"_No, I really won't…why would I ever love someone that takes pleasure in hurting others and hurting me?"_

"_Bonnie, you know that things change", Klaus said grabbing her arm and caressing her cheek with his other, "I mean, look at your beautiful skin, it changed with that scar"._

_Bonnie looked up at him, "You are beautiful to me", Klaus whispered, "but to the rest of the world, you look damaged"._

_Bonnie blinked for a few seconds as her mind began to cloud over, "Bonnie, you and I…we are meant to be together…I'm an original, I'm powerful and you are a Bennett witch, it is written in the stars. If you leave me, I will track you down and leave a trail of destruction in my wake"._

_Bonnie looked into his eyes as she felt him kiss her on the lips, "Our time will come soon", he whispered in her ear before disappearing out of the room_

_As soon as the door slammed, Bonnie jumped as her mind cleared up. _

"What are you doing?" Damon asked standing by her window.

"Can you ever announce your presence first or I don't know…ring a doorbell?" Bonnie asked standing up with her bag.

"If I did that, it would give you a chance to stop me before I got to your bedroom…so what were you doing before I walked in?"

"I can remember pieces of my time with Klaus…it's weird, sometimes I wish I knew what happened when the other part of me showed up".

"Oh and oh yeah, she's a winner…she sent Elena to Stefan crying", Damon smirked.

"I knew she said something, but she's gone now".

"Gone?"

"Yes, I asked her to leave…so she left".

"It's _that_ easy?" Damon leaned back against the wall crossing his arms.

"I guess, she's not here now".

"Uh, huh…well what did you find out?"

"I found out that he was holding me in a house in Massachusetts".

"Of course…how poetic", Damon snorted.

"So I drew a map tp the house or well…my powers did, so we can go to the house and see".

"And how are we supposed to get there?"

"Well…I thought we could drive".

"You mean, I could drive…we are not taking your tiny Prius and _you_ are not driving my car", Damon informed her.

"Ok…fine, _you_ can drive…let me call Elena and apologize and tell her…", Bonnie took out her cell phone as Damon took it from her.

"Oh no, you call Elena and you tell her that we're leaving, she will want to come and Stefan will want to come and then this will turn into a field trip from hell".

"But what if Klaus is alive, we may need them", Bonnie argued.

"You are strong enough to defend yourself against him, right?" Damon asked.

"I guess…"

"Good, if anything happens you will kill him for real then".

Bonnie felt her anxiety shoot up, but she fought to keep it down, "Ok…we will call them when we get to Massachusetts", Bonnie replied.

"Ok…fine, are you ready?"

"Yes", Bonnie said taking a deep breath. She expected the Other Bonnie to show up in the mirror as she left with Damon, but she figured that maybe she had disappeared for good. A part of Bonnie was relieved-now, she can exercise some independence over her life, but another part of her was afraid. There was a reason for that other personality and the reason was that something must have happened to make her so distraught that she needed another person to handle what she couldn't and it unnerved her.

SSSSSS

"Will you slow down!" Bonnie screamed as she held onto the handle in the car as Damon sped down the highway at 90mph.

"Why, there's no one out here and do you really want this to take days?" he asked glancing at me.

"No, but I would like to be alive after this".

"You know Bonnie, if you didn't want to drive with me…why did you call me?"

"Because you were the one hounding me about finding out if Klaus is alive or dead?"

"That's because I don't think we went through all of that last year to have him come back and start it all over again", Damon answered.

"So what if he's still alive, what are we going to do?" Bonnie asked.

"We kill him".

"I know that, but what exactly is the plan…this is Klaus, the last time we fought him we needed to trick him into believing I was dead…"

"I doubt he has been waiting for you to come back, trust me…if he is alive, he won't be by the time we are done".

"How can you be so sure?" Bonnie asked.

"Why are you so afraid?" Damon asked glancing at her, "before you were all, I would die if it means that I could kill him and take him out…now…you act as if you are scared".

"Spending a year with someone will do that".

"What exactly did he do to you?"

Bonnie looked out of the window, "I don't remember".

Damon suddenly stopped the car and pulled over, "You know what, I am also doing this so we all including you can get on with our lives, so why don't you quit it with the memory loss mantra and just tell me what went on with you two?"

"It does not matter", Bonnie said.

"It does matter…I need to know that if we have to face Klaus that you are not going to freeze up on me".

"I won't freeze up".

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I am sure about that", Bonnie replied, "now can we go?"

"Ok", Damon said starting the car and pulling back on the road.

"So tell me what happened with you and Elena while I was gone", Bonnie turned to Damon.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked avoiding her gaze.

"I mean, what happened between you and Elena…whatever my other personality said to her, it had something to do with you and Elena and something happening…so what happened?"

"None of your business".

"Oh so everything that happened between Klaus and me is your business, but I can't ask about you and Elena?"

"Well, will the Bitchy Witch come out if I tell you?"

"I told you she's gone".

"Fine…after the wolf bite, I was into asking forgiveness for things…"

"And yet, I missed you at my doorstep…tell me, did you visit Caroline?"

"Anyway, I asked Elena to forgive me for all that I'd done to her. So we went back to the boarding house as I waited to die and before Katherine came in with Klaus' blood, we were about to kiss…I told her I loved her and we were about to kiss…Katherine came in and broke up the moment".

Bonnie frowned as she sat back. While she wasn't surprised at Damon, she _was_ surprised at Elena's behavior.

"So after that…things got a little complicated. Between searching for you, Elena and I would have these moments…we would always come close, but then she would realize that Stefan was the one she wanted and I was left on the outside looking in".

"Well you had to know that was the way it would end up", Bonnie replied.

"Actually, for a few moments…I believed it would turn out differently, but the fact that nothing happened didn't exactly take away from Stefan's anger when he found out…it was a tense couple of months".

"Serves you right, going after your brother's girlfriend, especially after he tried to save your life".

"You know Bonnie, if I ever need to be judged…I know that you are the person to go to", Damon smirked turning to her.

"Just so you know", she smiled.

"So now that we're asking questions, what made you go after the young Gilbert?" Damon asked with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

Bonnie chuckled, "I didn't exactly go after Jeremy, he went after me…I thought it was weird".

"It _was_ weird, I mean didn't he feel like your kid?"

"Nooooo!" Bonnie laughed, "Jeremy is sweet, he made me feel normal for awhile".

"Why would you want to feel normal, that's overrated?"

"Because Damon, I can't say that not being normal has brought me much joy…if I were normal, Klaus would not have cared one thing about me".

"Uh, huh so if you felt the need to be normal, when you came back…what stopped you from reuniting with the young Gilbert?"

Bonnie looked out of the window.

"Well, I'm waiting".

"He didn't need someone as damaged as I am", she replied not facing him.

"And what would be damaged about you?" he asked.

"Well I had a split personality up until a few hours ago and in case you haven't noticed, I have this gigantic scar on my face…not exactly pretty", she turned to him.

He looked at her scar for a moment. Sure it was noticeable. Sure it didn't exactly enhance her looks, but Bonnie was a cute girl with or without it, "Eh, I've seen worse", Damon snorted.

"Thanks", she deadpanned, "the fact is Jeremy deserves to have a girlfriend who doesn't have as many issues as I do".

"Well maybe when this Klaus chapter is over, you can reunite with young Gilbert and you two can live happily ever after", Damon turned back towards the road.

"Maybe", Bonnie said leaning her head against the window and closing her eyes.

SSSSS

Bonnie opened her eyes to the sound of rain falling against the windshield of the car. She looked around and noticed that Damon was nowhere to be found. "Damon?" she whispered as she noticed that they were in a parking lot.

Suddenly the driving side of the door opened and Damon slid back inside of the car soaking wet.

"Where are we?" Bonnie asked looking around.

"Maryland, the rain started pouring down and apparently it's not stopping any time soon…I can continue to drive, you know if anything happens _ I_ will be ok…you on the other hand, maybe not".

"So what…you want to stay here?" Bonnie asked, "in this parking lot".

"You can stay here if you want, but I have a motel room".

"A motel room…did you get me one?"

"Sorry Bon, Bon apparently this is a very popular motel for the hookers and the johns off of 95, so there was only one room left…two double beds though", Damon smirked.

"I…", Bonnie began.

"Look, its just to wait out the storm…nothing more…or I can continue driving and you can grip on to the door and pray for you life, it's up to you", he shrugged.

"Ok…ok…but don't try anything crazy", Bonnie said grabbing her bag from the backseat.

"Wouldn't dream of it", Damon smirked as he got out of the car.

Bonnie put her jacket over her head as she followed Damon into the motel room as her body set out on a full body hum of nervousness.

**The next chapter...we find out how Bonnie got away, where's Klaus and what happened during the time she was with him to make her split into two people. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for all of the reviews, comments and fic love! You are truly motivating me. I won't say much else because I know you just want your answers…;-p**

**Oh and this was one of my favorite chapters to write…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

Chapter 7

As soon as they entered the motel room, Bonnie disappeared into the bathroom and after 15 minutes, Damon started to become a little weirded out. He knew that traveling to the place where Klaus held Bonnie would set the witch on edge, but he also knew that this was one way to ensure that they were all safe from Klaus. He still wasn't convinced that everything was fine with Bonnie, but knowing Klaus' status was one step to understanding what they were up against. He was sure that they could handle a traumatized witch.

"Bonnie", he called standing up and walking over to the door, "are you like, doing womanly things in there?" he grimaced.

Bonnie opened the door dressed in sweats and her hair was up in a ponytail, exposing her face completely and the scar was showing prominently. For the first time since this entire experience again, he hoped Klaus was alive. He wanted to have the pleasure of killing him himself.

"Are you ok?" Damon asked.

"I'm fine", she replied breezing past him and walking over to the bed and pausing.

"What's wrong?"

"Is this bed even clean?" she turned up her nose.

"Probably cleaner than the floor you're standing on barefoot", Damon smirked.

Bonnie hopped onto the bed and looked around, "Didn't we past a Hilton or something?"

"Well Bonnie, I didn't see you handing me any money".

"Oh Damon, I doubt that this bankrupted you".

"I go to all of the trouble to get you a dry place to stay and you still criticize me?"

"Sorry", Bonnie said, "you're right, I guess I'm just a little nervous".

"Did you just apologize to me…wow…that's new".

"Don't become accustomed to it, it won't happen often", Bonnie smirked.

"Oh, I am aware".

"How long is it supposed to rain?" Bonnie asked looking out of the window.

"I don't know Bonnie, maybe a couple more hours".

"I hate it".

"What…the rain?"

"Yes, I didn't used to…but now, I can't stand it".

"Why…is it tied to something that Klaus did?"

"Maybe", she shrugged.

"Do you remember anything else from your time with him?" Damon asked.

"Bits and pieces, but there are times when things just stop…days are missing…memories are wiped out, I guess that's when she took over or something".

"But what made her take over? Do you remember the day that she took over?" Damon asked.

Bonnie looked at him, "No".

"Oh I think you do and you're keeping it from everyone for a reason", Damon moved closer to Bonnie's bed.

"Does it matter now?"

"Bonnie, it matters because whatever you're hiding is tearing you apart".

"Oh you care now?" Bonnie snickered.

"Look…I feel like this is partly my fault, so please just cut me some slack here…I'm trying to help you".

"Damon, I really…really…_really_ don't want to talk about it", Bonnie stood up from the bed and walked over to the desk sitting down playing with her cell phone.

"Ok, what if I guess…would you just confirm it?" Damon asked.

Bonnie didn't say anything.

"Ok, did he make you kill people?" Damon asked.

"No, he took pleasure in doing that himself", Bonnie shook her head.

"Then what…he had you cast spells?"

"Little ones…some torturing…some things to get him into places undetected...switching his mind with other people we came in contact with…"

"Ok, so what else…what else could he want from you?" Damon asked, "I mean, Klaus is an Original, he can do a lot of things on his own…I don't think he was trying to perform the sacrifice again so soon…so what could he want a witch for other than just to have one in his back pocket?"

Bonnie stood up from the desk, "Let's just stop this…it doesn't matter anymore".

"Doesn't it?" Damon asked walking over to her, "Bonnie, I need you to tell me what's going on. I don't need you turning into someone else while we're in a fight".

"Damon…I can't tell you, I can't tell anyone", Bonnie shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because…"

"Because what Bonnie?" Damon asked.

"Because Damon it happened to me and I don't want to talk about it with anyone", Bonnie snapped, "can we just go to sleep or rather, I will and you do whatever you do at night".

"If that's what you want", Damon sighed.

"Yes, that's what I want…good night Damon", Bonnie said turning over and facing the wall as he stared at her back.

SSSSSS

"So do you want to stop and get something to eat?" Damon asked as he pulled out of the motel parking lot as the rain began to die down the next morning.

"No, I'm not hungry".

"Are you sure, it's going to be a long drive".

"Are _you _hungry Damon?" Bonnie asked turning to him, "when was the last time you ate".

"Before I picked you up, a nice co-ed…she tasted fantastic".

"You are disgusting", Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Well you asked".

"And you know what, I'm sorry I did".

"Ok…so now, I'm riding with a pissed off witch…lucky me".

"I'm not pissed off", Bonnie folded her arms.

"You're something".

"I'm a little nervous ok…I don't know what will happen when I get to the house".

"Do you think all of your memories will come back?"

"Probably".

"And when they do…"

"They just do", Bonnie answered with a shrug as her cell phone began to ring.

Damon glanced over as she fished the phone out of her bag and answered, "Hello Elena", Bonnie said.

"Oh my god…Bonnie, where are you?" Elena said panicked on the other side.

"I'm…I'm taking a little ride with Damon", Bonnie said glancing over at him for a moment, "I want to apologize to you about the other day, I'm not exactly sure what I said…but I know I didn't mean it".

"It's ok Bon…umm…where are you and Damon going, I know that he wasn't home last night and neither were you".

"I'm going back to the house where Klaus held me".

"What…you can't do that Bonnie, are you ready for that…wait…let me speak with Damon", Elena demanded.

"Elena, I'm a big girl…Damon didn't trick me into doing this".

"Bonnie, we just got you back. I don't want anything to happen to you".

"It won't, I have my powers and I have Damon", Bonnie said glancing over at Damon as he drove with his eyes directly on the road.

"You tell Damon that if he doesn't come back with you, he better not come back at all", Elena replied.

Bonnie laughed, "Ok…I will tell him that".

"I love you Bonnie", Elena said.

"Love you too", Bonnie said, "I will be home soon".

"Good".

Bonnie ended the call and looked at Damon, "They probably think that you and I are having some kind of affair".

Damon snickered, "Not in this millennium".

"Well the fact that they probably think that I am crazy adds to that line of thinking".

"But _I'm_ not", Damon widened his eyes.

"You're not what…crazy…that's funny", Bonnie chuckled.

"I'm not crazy, I'm the most sane out of the group".

"Oh sure you are", Bonnie laughed.

"What…Stefan…as soon as he gets a taste of human blood is completely unmanageable…Caroline, has soo much air in between her ears that I'm not sure we can trust her with anything but picking out our wardrobe…Elena…well she's sweet and all, but she's not a fighter…Young Gilbert…he's emotional, he can't handle the real stuff…so yes, I am the most sane one out of the group".

"Right", Bonnie answered.

"You don't have to agree with me out loud Bonnie, I know that you know its true".

"Whatever you say Damon", Bonnie laughed as she turned up the radio.

SSSSS

By hour 6, Bonnie realized that she could not deny her hunger anymore and realized that she needed to get something to eat. When Damon pulled off at a gas station to fill up, she walked inside to get something to eat…anything…and in this gas station, anything was definitely an option. As she walked down the aisle, she noticed a guy following her down the aisles. When she stopped to get a bag of chips, she looked at him, "Is there a problem?" she asked turning to him.

"You know, you're a pretty girl…except for the scar", he said moving closer to her.

"Well thank you", Bonnie said moving past him.

"Traveling by yourself?"

"No, my…friend is outside filling up the car".

"What kind of friend?" the guy said.

"A friend that doesn't want you talking to _his _friend", Damon's voice said from behind the guy.

The guy turned around and eyed Damon, "Your girlfriend…tell me…she must be good in bed, that's the only way _I _would take her out with that thing on her face", the guy smirked.

Bonnie swallowed as Damon looked at the guy with an intense glare, "You will apologize to the little lady behind you and then you will go walk out into the middle of the high…"

"Damon!" Bonnie called and then shook her head.

"Ok fine…you will apologize to her and then you will get and your car and start driving to South America, don't stop until you get there", Damon rolled his eyes and then turned to Bonnie, "is that ok?"

Bonnie smirked and nodded.

"Now apologize", Damon ordered.

"Sorry…I apologize for my words", the guy said and then moved past Damon and out of the gas station.

"Are you ok?" Damon asked moving closer to Bonnie.

"I'm fine, let me pay for this stuff and then we can get back on the road", she breezed past him and headed towards the cashier.

SSSSSS

After following Bonnie's directions into Massachusetts, Damon pulled up in front of a white Victorian single home. He stepped out and looked around. The house didn't appear to have anyone living in it presently. Damon turned to Bonnie who stood in front of the house staring as if she was trying to build up the courage to go inside.

"Bonnie, I can go in and check the place out", Damon offered.

"No…no…I can go in", she replied walking up behind him as they climbed the stairs.

As Bonnie walked towards the door, she felt as if she would be sick at any moment. She held onto the railing trying to create strength to get through the door. She could hear voices telling her to stay out of the house but she ignored them. There was no way that she would continue to live in the dark about where Klaus was.

Damon put his hand on the doorknob, turned and stepped inside. The house was quite dusty and there was no sign of any life. He turned and saw Bonnie standing outside on the porch, "You don't have to come in", he replied.

She looked at him and then shook her head slowly as she swallowed and stepped over the threshold. Damon noticed that she stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. "Bonnie, I can check the house while you stay here", Damon offered again.

"That is not necessary", Bonnie replied stepping beside him with newfound courage, it appeared, "I know where Klaus is".

"He's here…wait…is he alive?" Damon asked.

Bonnie didn't answer as she started walking up the stairs and Damon followed. There was something wrong, he felt. He could feel it in his stomach, but what could it be? He followed Bonnie down a long hallway and finally she stopped in front of a door.

"Bonnie…", he began.

"He's in here", she replied opening the door and Damon followed her inside.

Damon looked around. It was a nice bedroom. He could see that there was a spell book the desk by the window. The room was decorated with all white furniture and there was a closet full of clothes, female clothes.

"Bonnie was this your room?" Damon asked and then he noticed that Bonnie was kneeling over something on the floor on the other side of the bed. He walked over to stand beside her and then looked down.

Klaus' shriveled body was lying on the floor with a dagger sticking out of his chest as Bonnie stood over him.

"Bonnie, you don't have to…", Damon began and then he felt a sharp pain in his head. He grabbed the side of his head, "Bon…Bonnie…what are you doing…stop", he dropped to his knees.

Bonnie turned to him, "I'm sorry", she replied as tears came from her eyes.

"Sorry…what do you mean, you're sorry?" Damon asked praying that this was not what he thought.

Bonnie's hand shot out and Damon found himself flying against the wall and being pinned there. He then saw Bonnie kneel down again.

"Bonnie…Bonnie…no…don't!" Damon yelled as he watched Bonnie close her eyes and pull the dagger from Klaus' chest and fall back onto the floor.

Damon watched slowly as Klaus' color returned and his shriveled body became the body that he had before. Bonnie stared at him as Klaus opened his eyes.

Damon watched in disbelief as Klaus stood up and pulled Bonnie up alongside him, "I knew it would only be a matter of time before you returned", Klaus whispered into Bonnie's ear, "and I see you brought a friend".

Bonnie stared at Klaus blankly as if she was in a trance…compelled…

Klaus walked over to Damon who was still paralyzed on the wall holding onto Bonnie, "I want to thank you Damon, since I can assume that you were the one to push Bonnie to come back here".

"Let her go", Damon said.

"Protective of Bonnie…hmm…", Klaus said turning Bonnie to face him like she was a doll looking at Damon, "Bonnie, have you decided that you would take on another vampire as a lover after you killed me…well…I guess it's quite all right, since I was your first", Klaus sighed.

Damon fought to remove himself from the wall. What did Klaus mean when he said lover? "Leave her alone!" Damon shouted.

"You are not in a position to order me around", Klaus said, "but you know what…I will leave her alone for now, I have some other matters to attend to, but first…"

Damon watched as Klaus sunk his teeth into Bonnie and he watched as she screamed out in pain as the compulsion began to wear off and memories came flooding back to her…

_The rain beat against the window as Bonnie stood in her bedroom as she noticed that the sky looked jet black. Klaus had been scarce the entire day and she was grateful. She treasured the moments where there was no trace of him and she could forget for a few hours that her life was not her own anymore, but Klaus and whatever he desired. He was sick and psychotic. He would compel her at times and others, he chose not to. She believed that he enjoyed torturing her and letting her know that he could control her whenever he wanted. _

"_Please help me…I need your help, Emily…Grams…I need you", Bonnie whispered as she moved away from the window, "I need you desperately"._

"_Who do you need?" Klaus asked from behind her. _

"_Not you", Bonnie snapped moving away from him. _

_She felt him come closer to her, "Are you sure about that Bonnie?", he whispered in her ear._

"_Yes"._

_He turned her to face him, "You know I do believe that you have some attraction to me Bonnie that you refuse to acknowledge…don't you, my Precious?" he caressed her face and moved hair out of her eyes. _

"_No"._

"_I do not believe you", Klaus said moving her closer to the bed. _

"_Klaus…don't...don't do this", Bonnie pleaded as she felt the back of her legs hit the mattress. _

"_Oh Bonnie, it will be ok…this is just the beginning of us coming together and creating a legacy", Klaus said as he kissed her on the neck and Bonnie closed her eyes trying to pull her powers together to fight him. _

_As she felt herself falling back onto the bed, she looked up at Klaus eyes…eyes of death, "No need for you to fight this, you want this…" Klaus whispered in her ear. _

_Bonnie closed her eyes as the tears flowed freely, "Please help me…I need you to help me…please…", Bonnie begged as she looked out at the rain falling outside of the window. _

"_Bonnie, do not cry…if you continue to cry, I will have to compel you and that won't be any fun", Klaus whispered looking down at Bonnie. _

"_Klaus, I will do whatever you want…just do not do this", Bonnie cried looking up at him. _

"_Let me this easier for you", Klaus whispered in her ear. _

_For a minute Bonnie thought that he would back off, but then she felt pain all over her body as she screamed as lightening entered the room as Klaus entered her and she felt a part of herself die—but another part of her was also born. _

**Well Damon was partially right? But was it worth it?**

**Please feel free to leave a comment! I love them!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all of the love, comments and reviews for the last chapter and the entire fic actually. The last chapter, while being my favorite touched on something that I went back and forth on, but I love that you guys went with me on the twist. Yes, Klaus is a pretty big mofo and he had/has a plan...only time will tell whether that plan will succeed. **

**As for Bonnie's split...it will forever be a mystery as to how she came about. Was it because of what Klaus did or was it because of the witches?**

**One thing is for sure...Damon is not exactly feeling that great for what he did and guilt can be either a good thing or a bad thing..Bamonators will think Damon's guilt is good! Bonnie, on the other hand, well...  
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**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
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Chapter 8

Damon sat in the chair across from the bed where Bonnie lie sleeping. He clenched and unclenched his jaw a million times. After Klaus bit into Bonnie, Damon's paralysis had been lifted and he dropped to the floor. Klaus threw Bonnie's unconscious body at him and Damon caught her before Klaus sped out of the room. Damon quickly gave Bonnie some of his blood and when he felt her pulse began to quicken, he carried her out of the house. The last thing he wanted was her waking up in that room where apparently unspeakable things had happened to her.

So here he sat in a hotel room watching her sleep. Her scars from where Klaus had bitten her were starting to heal, but Damon knew that he could do nothing about the scar on her face or whatever Klaus did to her to scar her emotionally. Damon slammed his fist on the armrest. He should have listened to the Bitchy Bonnie. All that time he thought that Bitchy Bonnie was probably the double agent and lo and behold, it was the quiet Bonnie that Klaus had planted in the midst and she had resurrected him.

"Damn it!" Damon shouted as he stood up and walked out to the balcony of the suite and took out his cell phone dialing.

"Damon…where are you?" Stefan answered on the other end.

"In Springfield Mass…"

"Did you find Klaus?" Stefan asked.

"Yes…"

"Is he dead?" Stefan pressed.

"He was…"

"What do you mean, he was?"

Damon turned to look down at the city below, "I messed up", he could barely choke out.

"Damon, what did you do?" Stefan asked.

"Can you come here, bring Elena with you", Damon replied.

"Why…what's wrong?" Stefan asked.

"Just come here, I will text you the address…get here as soon as you can", Damon said ending the call as he looked towards the room where Bonnie was still asleep in the bed.

SSSSS

_Bonnie stood on the porch of the house as the soft breeze flowed through her hair. She wasn't exactly sure that she could cry anymore; she'd been crying for days hoping that the tears would make her memories of a week ago disappear. Ever since that night, Bonnie had been having black outs and to a degree, she was grateful for them. She didn't care about the reason, she could only believe that the blackouts were helping her deal with Klaus. _

"_Waiting for me?" Klaus asked as he walked up with his driver, Andrew (who quickly went into the house). _

_Bonnie felt something come over her and turned to Klaus, "Well of course", Bonnie smiled turning to him. _

_Klaus smiled pulling her closer to him and kissing her, "I am pleased that you have come around, the tears were starting to become a little much"._

"_I just needed some time to get used to the change in our relationship, that's all"._

"_You are truly precious", Klaus said, "but I must go, I have some things to attend to in the house"._

_Bonnie nodded as Klaus walked past her into the house. Bonnie turned and looked towards the door, "I am going to love killing you", she whispered. _

_SSSSS_

_Klaus kissed Bonnie softly on the wounds on her neck when he had finished feeding off of her. "I've never had a Bennett witch, but I see what the others mean…you are amazing", Klaus said gazing down at Bonnie. _

_Bonnie smiled at him, "I think I can take that as a compliment"._

"_I have to admit, I thought that it would take longer for you to start to enjoy this"._

"_Well things change", Bonnie grinned as Klaus covered her and began kissing her. _

_Bonnie lifted her arm as Klaus' hands roamed her body. The dagger floated through the air from under the couch where Bonnie hid it days ago. _

"_We will have our legacy", Klaus whispered in Bonnie's ear. _

"_No we won't!" Bonnie yelled as the dagger entered her hand and she thrust it into Klaus back. _

"_You will pay for this" he promised as he gurgled and his body shriveled up. _

_Bonnie pushed his body onto the floor as she slid out of the bed with the sheet wrapped around her. "How do you like being poked, you bastard!" she hissed as she walked away from him. _

Bonnie opened her eyes and sat up in the bed looking around.

"Bonnie…", Damon said from the corner of the room.

She continued to look around, "Where…where are we?" she asked in her confused state.

"The Hilton", Damon smirked.

"But why…the last thing I remember is standing outside of the house…was Klaus dead?"

"He was", Damon replied.

Bonnie slid off of the bed, "What do you mean he was…what happened…where is he?" she asked standing in front of him.

"He must have compelled you when you were living here with him, he…uh…he compelled you to remove the dagger from him".

Bonnie shook her head, "I can't believe this, so he's alive and we don't know where he is…we have to find him…we have to find him now", she replied heading over to her bag and removing a grimoire.

"Before he took off, he said something…", Damon replied.

Bonnie had her back to him as she searched the grimoire.

"He said that he was your lover…he thought that I was also one…he said that it was ok because he was your first…", Damon began as he watched Bonnie's entire body stiffen, "Bonnie, I know what that means…"

Bonnie turned to him, "You don't know what that means!" she moved closer to him, "so just drop it!"

"Bonnie, I'm not dropping anything…Klaus is running around now…he compelled you to help him come back to life, there are soo many things going on and we just need to talk about this one thing…"

"Why would I want to talk to you of all people about anything that happened with Klaus?" Bonnie shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body.

"Because I'm here and I was there when he grabbed you…I gave you some of my blood…"

"You know, you're just like him…you think just because you're stronger and that you can control people that people are just your puppets…well they're not", Bonnie snapped, "and if I don't want to talk about what happened to _me_ I don't have to talk about it".

"I know that Bonnie, but…"

"But what Damon, are you going to play supernatural psychologist right now; because you are not qualified".

"Look, I know that you have all of these emotions running around inside of you and all, but I am trying to help here. I'm sorry that Klaus hurt you…I'm sorry that he took you and kept you in that house, but Bonnie I _am_ trying to help you here".

"Why Damon…why are you trying to help me? You don't care about me…you never cared about me…in fact, during the sacrifice did you really give a damn whether I lived or died?"

"Yes…yes…I did, did you forget about the dance when I helped you fake your death?"

"That was so I could come back later and defeat Klaus or try to and Elena would be saved…look, I am aware that I am just a pawn…that's what witches are pawns for vampires…and I know that now more than ever now!" Bonnie breezed past him heading onto the balcony of the hotel.

Damon rolled his eyes as he turned towards the hotel door. Honestly, he had no idea why he cared anymore. Sure, this entire thing started because of his wolf bite, but he didn't ask the witch for her help and he had been nothing but nice to her. She continuously spat in his face and she was the one that let Klaus back into the world. It wasn't his fault that she was in this situation.

He started towards the hotel door. Stefan and Elena were on their way, they could handle her…but then he stopped. As much as he wanted to be a cold hearted bastard, he heard Klaus' words in his head… _'Have you decided that you would take on another vampire as a lover after you killed me…well…I guess it's quite all right, since I was your first' _. He wanted not to care, he wanted to shrug it off—but he couldn't and he hated that he couldn't just walk away. He didn't know why. "Damn you Emily, this is probably some residual duty to you or something", Damon mumbled as he turned to see Bonnie leaning against the railing.

He walked out to her, "Bonnie, I'm sorry for what Klaus did to you", he said quietly.

"Don't worry about it", she said wiping her eyes but still not looking at him.

He walked over to her and took her arm, "Bonnie, I'm sorry for what Klaus did to you".

She turned to him and he saw how broken she was, how her eyes were almost dead and he looked down at her, "I'm sorry for what Klaus did to you", he repeated again.

He watched as it appeared the tears began to steadily flow out of her eyes as she tried to keep her composure. Damon felt as if he went against everything that he ever felt towards the witch and pulled her to him as he pulled her into his arms. He would probably deny this if anyone questioned him and he would probably try to compel Bonnie to forget this moment, but he knew it was the right thing to do at that time.

SSSSS

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" Damon asked as Bonnie sat on the bed staring at the television blankly about an hour later.

"I'm not hungry".

"Ok…well…"

"We have to find Klaus and kill him", she replied looking at Damon, "I _have_ to kill him".

"I think we need some time to regroup, Stefan and Elena are on their way…"

Bonnie turned to look at him and shot up from the bed, "Wait…what…Stefan and Elena are on their way, what did you tell them?"

"I didn't tell them anything other than Klaus is up and running around", Damon replied.

"Because you cannot tell them about what Klaus said".

"What…what do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean".

"Wait…you haven't told Elena already?" Damon blinked.

"No and I'm not going to, I want to put everything that happened with Klaus behind me".

"How can you do that…I mean…it sounds nice, but some pretty serious things went on between you two and…"

"Damon, can you just do me this one favor…Stefan and Elena, they cannot know anything about what Klaus said".

"But why…don't you want to…I don't know…talk to Elena about what happened?"

"Why…she can't help me", Bonnie folded her arms.

"But I mean…Stefan always talks about talking about your feelings and how it makes things better and all that jazz".

"Things will never be better for me, Damon…I will never be the person I was before Klaus took me, the only thing I can do is be the Bonnie I am now".

"And what about the other Bonnie…where is she?"

"She disappeared. I told her to go away and she went away".

"When did she show up…do you know?" Damon asked.

Bonnie poured a glass of water and turned to Damon, "She showed up after that first night that Klaus…that we…she showed up the first night that Klaus forced him on me…or rather, I think she did. There would be moments when I would be sitting across from Klaus or standing beside him out in public and the next thing I would remember is being back in my room or in his room waking up".

"So she handled the tough stuff?" Damon filled in.

Bonnie shrugged, "More or less".

"So did he want you to be his witchy wife…what?"

"He wanted to find a way to create a legacy…have a child…"

"And did he..." Damon began but found it a little hard to continue, "did he get the child that he wanted?"

"Well I'm not pregnant now and it's virtually impossible, despite what he thought or I'm not sure if he even believed what he was saying…he could have been playing a game with me or something".

"Are you sure?" Damon pressed.

"Yes, I am sure Damon…I am completely sure, he made me look for spells…I didn't find any!" Bonnie threw up her hands.

"Look I am only trying to figure out what went on and how to fix things".

"We kill Klaus, that's as simple as it can get".

"Killing Klaus, do you think it's that easy…do you think he still has some kind of sleeper compulsion going on?"

"I don't think so, I don't feel as though he does".

"Well you need to find out, we cannot have another double cross like today happen", Damon warned her.

"I…I know", Bonnie nodded as she sat down on the bed, "and until I fix everything, I'm not coming back to Mystic Falls putting everyone in danger, I don't know what else Klaus maybe compelled me to do".

"What…you can't stay here", Damon argued, "Klaus will come looking for you, you cannot wander around by yourself".

"But you were right, Klaus did compel me to do something and I didn't even know. What if he did put some kind of compulsion in my mind to hurt you all…I would never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to Elena or Jeremy or Caroline or Stefan or…uh…you".

"Thanks", Damon chuckled.

"I'm serious, I cannot go back to Mystic Falls".

"You are going back to Mystic Falls, I refuse to allow you to take off by yourself when Klaus is around searching for you and how would I explain your disappearance to your friends. Sorry Bennett, you're coming back to Mystic Falls even if I have to carry you kicking and screaming", Damon replied standing directly in front of her.

"I didn't know you cared", Bonnie stated.

"I don't", he winked.

Bonnie shook her head, "Klaus just has me so messed up and I thought being back in Mystic Falls would fix everything".

"Well we're going to fix what we can".

"We?" Bonnie asked looking at him.

"Yes, we".

"Damon, even though you say you don't…when did you start to care so much?"

Damon thought for a few moments as he kneeled down in front of, "I have absolutely no idea. What I do know is that you can be a judgmental know it all witch, but you didn't deserve what happened with Klaus".

"Thank you".

"Annnnddd…after dealing with Other Bonnie, I figure its best I stay on your good side".

Bonnie hit Damon in the chest, "Yes that would be better".

"Well I hate to tell you this Bonnie, but I need to feed and…"

"I know…go…and I know you probably can't find a blood bank, so just go…", Bonnie sighed, "just don't kill them".

"You should come with me".

"Come with you while you pluck some unsuspecting female from a crowd to feed off of…I don't think so".

"Are you sure that you can stay here by yourself, I mean…Klaus is still out there".

"I know that, but he won't show up tonight…we're expecting him and Klaus will strike when we're not".

Damon started towards the door, "Are you sure that you are OK with me leaving".

"Damon please don't treat me like some kind of victim here, treat me like the Bonnie that you begrudgingly liked".

"Ok…well if I were treating you like that Bonnie, we would not be in this hotel room alone", he smirked, "but take this…!", he threw the dagger on the bed, "you do know how to use it, don't you?"

"Go Damon", Bonnie said as he turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Bonnie looked around as she drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. Ever since she woke up in Mystic Falls, everyone asked her about how she felt and about Klaus. She told everyone that she didn't want to talk about it or she didn't remember. The truth was she didn't remember much after that night with Klaus. She remembered that she would be speaking with him one moment and the next, she would be waking with him lying beside her or she would be standing next to him in public and the next she would be sitting at the dining room table with Klaus staring at her waiting for an answer. While she had no idea what happened when she was blacked out, she knew that whatever it was—it was horrible.

Bonnie unwrapped her arms from around her legs and crawled up in the bed staring at the wall. She touched her cheek lightly. There was no way that she would allow Klaus to win. He had taken so much from her and that was the last thing that she would do.

SSSSS

When Damon came back to the room, he found Bonnie sleeping in the bed. As soon as he stepped into the room, she sat up and looked at him, "You scared me", she said holding her hand over her chest.

"I gave you the dagger and I see you're not ready to use it and besides all that, you don't have a protection spell around this room yet?"

"I do, I guess I don't expect anything to work anymore", she shrugged.

"Hmm…well would you have guessed that you would be with me in a hotel room a year ago?"

"No…not at all…Damon, I know that I have my emotional spurts of craziness, but you have been good to me since I came back, so I have to believe that you have changed just a little bit".

"I told you".

"And I trust you".

"You trust me...wow…that's a big step".

"Well Damon, as you have said many times…I'm insane, so insanity could be the reason why I trust you".

"Well can I use that excuse too because I wasn't too fond of you awhile ago either".

"So now you are?" Bonnie asked.

Damon shrugged, "You spent a year being tortured by Klaus, even a bad ass like Katherine couldn't take that".

"You know, after spending that year with him…I think I understand why Katherine was a complete psycho bitch".

"Oh sympathizing with Katherine, you must be insane".

"I guess I understand how someone can turn to madness when someone won't leave you alone and you feel as if you're a prisoner", Bonnie shrugged as someone knocked on the door.

She looked at Damon, "Stay there", he ordered her as he walked over to the door and peered through the peephole, "Its Stefan and Elena", he whispered.

"Damon, please…" Bonnie shook her head.

"I will not tell them anything about what Klaus said".

"Thank you", Bonnie mouthed as Damon opened the door.

"Bonnie!" Elena rushed in enveloping Bonnie in a hug.

Stefan walked in and eyed Damon, "What's going on".

"Well there's good news and bad news kids…", Damon announced as he closed the door.

"What…what happened, are you ok Bonnie?" Elena asked with concerned eyes.

"I'm ok".

"What happened?" Stefan asked.

"Klaus was dead when we got to the house but…"

"But what?" Stefan asked.

"He compelled Bonnie to pull the dagger out of his chest, he must have planted it in her mind before she escaped".

Stefan and Elena turned to Bonnie, "He compelled you…Bonnie, is it done…did he compel you to do other things?"

"No, I think that was all he wanted from me…for now".

"So what are we going to do?" Stefan asked.

"Well we need to go back to Mystic Falls tomorrow and when we get there, we will come up with a game plan…Klaus is only lying low because he knows that we are waiting for him", Damon answered.

"Ok…", Stefan began, "Damon, can I talk to you outside for a few moments".

Damon watched as Bonnie's eyes met his and he could see the fear in her eyes that he would tell Stefan what Klaus said.

"Sure", Damon said sending Bonnie a reassuring smirk as he stepped outside on the balcony with Stefan closing the door behind him.

"Ok, you asked us to come here…you told me you messed up, so what's the deal Damon?" Stefan whispered.

"I kind of manipulated Bonnie into coming here".

"What do you mean kind of?"

"Look, we weren't sure what was going on with Klaus…we needed to know if he was still alive".

"Well it's a good thing we know that he is now".

"Look, I know I messed up…I should have listened to that Other Bonnie when she told me that nothing good would come from this, but if she wasn't so evil, I probably would have…anyway, we have to find Klaus and keep him away from Bonnie".

"Keep him away from Bonnie, huh?" Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Look, we don't have time for you to get those wheels turning…two years ago, it was Elena…well Klaus has a new plan, a plan that entails our little witch in there…"

"_Our witch_?"Stefan asked.

"Really Stefan…really, stop seeing a relationship that doesn't exist….we are on high alert here, Klaus will come back for her".

"Ok, so what are we going to do?" Stefan asked.

"Not sure of that yet".

"Damon what is going on, I saw that look between you and Bonnie before we walked out here. Did something else happen in that house?"

Damon looked at Stefan, "No".

"What did Klaus do…how did he get away?"

"Bonnie was compelled, which means she decided to make my head explode…he bit her and then took off, that was it".

"Did he say anything?" Stefan asked.

"Just that he would come back for her".

"That's all", Stefan asked.

Damon looked towards the hotel room where Elena and Bonnie were talking, "That's all", he answered.

**Damon kept the secret. I love him for that. :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you all for your reviews and comments. I was afraid that I would lose some people with such a heavy topic, but I am grateful and overjoyed that all of you guys decided to stick with me. **

**I am definitely taking the Bamon relationship slowly. As of right now, the fic is labeled 'Hurt/Comfort and Friendship'...but that will be changing in a few chapters...**

**Please leave a comment, review...I think my heart grows bigger than Damon's reading them. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
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Chapter 9

"Bonnie, I don't know about you staying here alone…you should come to my house", Elena frowned as she sat in the back of Damon's car with Bonnie entering Mystic Falls.

"Elena, it's best that I stay at my house. If Klaus does show up, I rather you and Jeremy stay safe".

"But what about you?" Elena asked.

"I will be ok, I will do a spell…he won't be able to enter my house without permission", Bonnie answered, "even as an Original".

"I don't like this", Elena shook her head as Damon pulled up in front of her house.

Bonnie grabbed Elena's hand, "I will be fine…don't worry".

Elena reached over and pulled Bonnie into a hug, "If you need to talk, just call me", she whispered in her ear.

Bonnie nodded as Elena got out of the car followed by Stefan who walked her to the front door.

"So does that bother you?" Bonnie asked looking at Stefan and Elena speak to each other and then hug.

"Why would it bother me…she made her choice a long time ago", Damon scoffed.

"Because you spent a lot of time trying to get Elena to choose you".

"That was the past…but let's talk about something more important, I think you should stay at the boarding house".

"Oh no…definitely not", Bonnie shook her head.

"Why not, do you really think you should be alone with Klaus around?"

"I can handle it, trust me".

"Can you because it appears the way you handle it is becoming a different person", Damon said turning around and looking at her.

"Damon, I can handle it…I will do a spell that won't allow Klaus in the house, that's it. I appreciate your concern as weird as it is for me, but I need to be at my house…I've been away from it for too long".

"Fine, then I am coming there".

"The hell you are", Bonnie answered as Stefan slid back into the passenger seat.

"What's going on?" he asked looking from Damon to Bonnie.

"Stefan can you please explain to Miss Bennett back there that she really should not be staying at her house alone while Klaus is awake and knows that she attempted to kill him".

"Damon is right Bonnie, maybe you should stay somewhere else or let one of us stay with you".

"I will not do that, Klaus will not make me feel as if I can't live a normal life…he controlled me for a year and that's done, now you two can either take me home and let me go in my house by myself or I can get out here and walk", Bonnie said looking at both of the Salvatore brothers as they looked back at her.

"Bonnie, I understand that you want to have some independence, but…", Stefan sighed.

"You are being completely stupid and ridiculous, Klaus kidnapped you, held you for a year and compelled you to bring him back to life if you ever stepped foot in that house again and you want to go to your house alone and what…wait for him to kidnap you again?" Damon asked.

"Open up the doors", Bonnie said through clenched teeth.

"Bonnie, you can't be serious…we will drive you home", Stefan said looking at Bonnie.

"Fine…but I want to go home alone", she stated looking directly at Damon.

"And you will do that", Stefan smiled.

"Thank you".

"Stubborn ass witch", Damon mumbled under his breath as he started the car.

After Stefan walked her to the door and coaxed her into letting him check out the house, Bonnie entered and closed the door behind Stefan locking in. She closed her eyes and mumbled a quick spell to keep out anyone supernatural that she doesn't invite in and she walked over to the couch sitting down. Maybe she was an idiot for not allowing Stefan or Damon to stay, but she needed to get back to the Bonnie that didn't need anyone to stay with her…the Bonnie who could bring a vampire to his knees with just one look…the Bonnie that didn't cry and ask why so much. She turned to her duffel bag next to her and unzipped it, pulling out the dagger. She clutched the dagger in her hand and settled down on the couch…just in case.

SSSSSS

"Ok what is going on…what really happened in that house?" Stefan asked as soon as the brothers walked into the boarding house.

"What are you talking about?" Damon sighed pouring a shot of vodka and downing while pouring another.

"The house…Klaus just rose from the dead, bit Bonnie and took off…he didn't say anything?" Stefan pressed.

"Stefan we talked about this in Massachusetts, I'm tired…Klaus didn't say much, he was too busy taking a bite out of Bonnie".

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows, "Bonnie's heartbeat sped up a great deal when I asked you to come out on the balcony, usually a heartbeat speeds up like that when someone is afraid".

"Ok", Damon said taking another shot.

"So you're just going to keep this a secret?"

"There are no secrets to tell Stefan, if you want to know more why don't you track Klaus down yourself and ask him".

"Fine…fine…I just want Bonnie to make it through this, that's all".

Damon took another shot and then he grimaced, "You want to know something…ever since you came back to the boarding house that night after I was cured with Klaus' blood, I've been thinking about the fact that Bonnie went there because you asked her to and for better or for worse, she didn't want me to die and you know what, I've asked myself a million times whether I would have done the same for her a year ago and I don't know if I would have".

"You would have Damon".

"No Stefan, I don't think I would have".

"Well you're trying to help her now".

"That I am, but you see how interested she is in that", Damon snickered.

"Well she went through a lot", Stefan shrugged.

"That she did", Damon said as he downed his last shot.

SSSSS

Bonnie could feel someone moving around her living room as she slowly began to awaken from her slumber. She clutched the dagger tightly as she felt them coming closer to her. She opened her eyes and stabbed at the air as she felt a cold hand wrap around her wrist, "Good going there Judgey", Damon's voice sliced through the silence, "I'm sure the invisible man has about 10 holes in his body".

She opened her eyes, "What in the hell are you doing here!" she said snatching her arm out of his grip.

"How did I get in?" he asked dropping his arm and walking away from her looking out of the window.

"You broke in".

"No, if you cast a spell to keep vampires out…how did _I_ get in".

"The spell will allow you, Stefan and Caroline to come in…but why are you here, I could have killed you!" Bonnie sat up on the couch looking at him and turning on the light.

"Your aim wasn't that good in the dark and thank you for allowing me in the secret club".

"Well I didn't think you would break into my place".

"You know, I understand the need for you to put on a brave front—but Bonnie, the fact of the matter is that Klaus is after you. Klaus will come after you and you need to have someone with you when he comes…someone who can actually do something".

"Does Stefan know that you're here?" Bonnie asked moving over on the couch.

Damon sat next to her, "Stefan is not my father, he doesn't tell me what to do and I don't need to inform him of my whereabouts".

"Of course, no one tells Damon Salvatore what to do".

"Exactly".

"I don't need you to stay here…", Bonnie began, "but thank you for coming here anyway".

"Soo you're actually enjoying my presence nowadays".

Bonnie shrugged, "The most important thing right now for me is for someone to look at me as if they don't feel pity for me and for the most part, you don't and I appreciate that".

"So my being a jackass helps you".

"Yes", Bonnie smiled.

"I guess I will take that as a compliment".

Bonnie nodded, "You should, so are you going to go now that you see that I am fine?"

"No, I'm not".

"Damon…"

"I'm trying to be an OK guy, let me be an OK guy for a night".

"Fine", Bonnie said leaning back on the couch and flicking on the television.

Damon sat next to her watching her for a few moments and then he spoke, "Yes, it does hurt to see Elena with Stefan", he spoke up, "I guess not so much because she chose him. I _knew_ that she would choose him in the end, but I guess for once I thought that someone would choose me over Stefan…or at least I _hoped_ that someone would. Stefan was always my father's favorite…I was nothing but a disappointment to him. Katherine loved Stefan and I did everything for her out of my own free will…she compelled Stefan and yet, she still loved him more…and then it was Elena, of course she would love Stefan…of course she would choose him, but I just wanted it to be different…I wanted to be wrong…I guess, seeing Elena and Stefan are just a reminder that I'm not nor have I ever been good enough".

Bonnie watched as Damon spoke and not once looked her way. She felt her heart softening towards Damon and it was a weird feeling. Even though her mind was swirling with everything that Klaus had done to her and the fear of what he might do, she couldn't help but focus on Damon's words. Maybe he was confessing this to her to make them even. He learned something about her tonight that she tried desperately to keep a secret—maybe he was trying to make her think they were even and she was grateful to him.

"If you keep eating out only on weekends, I am pretty sure that you will move up quickly on someone's 'good enough' scale", Bonnie smirked looking at her.

Damon returned her gaze, "Thanks Judgey…coming from you, that means a lot".

Bonnie smiled as she leaned over onto a pillow and pulled her legs up on the couch. She had to admit, the fact that Damon was sitting a couple of feet away from her did give her some sense of security and she wasn't sure what weirded her out the most—the fact that Damon of all people made her feel safe or the fact that she was pleased that he was there to make sure that she felt safe.

SSSSS

Damon opened one eye as the doorbell rang excessively. He opened both eyes and looked around Bonnie's living room. She was missing from her space on the couch and apparently she was upstairs in the shower; he could hear it running. He rose from the couch and stretched looking towards the door where the bell was still being assaulted. Chances are, it was someone that he did not want to see—especially in the morning at Bonnie's house. As he slowly walked to the door, he tried to mentally prepare himself to be a good guy. Damon twisted the doorknob and opened the door to reveal Jeremy on the other side. For a few minutes Jeremy focused on him in shock and then he finally found his voice, "What are you doing here?" Jeremy spat out.

"Now, is that any of your business?" Damon smirked leaning in the doorway.

"Where's Bonnie?" Jeremy asked pushing himself inside and looking around.

"Bonnie…Bonnie…let me think for a few moments short, caramel skin, green eyes…witch…oh…yeah, she's upstairs in the shower", Damon gestured up the stairs almost enjoying the look on Young Gilbert's face as his eyes narrowed even more.

"What are you doing here with Bonnie, why are you stalking her?"

"I'm not stalking her, I'm being a friend".

"A friend…you're not a friend to anyone. Leave Bonnie alone, she doesn't need you as a friend".

"Oh and she needs you, someone who can't do a thing for her but get in trouble and need her to save him…umm…I don't think so", Damon crossed his arms.

"You know what, Bonnie doesn't need this…"

"What do you know about what Bonnie needs? She dumped you, when was the last time you even spoke to her?" Damon asked, "I have spoken to her almost every day since she's been back, too bad you can't stay the same".

Damon watched as Jeremy's nostrils began to flare and he just wanted to grin from ear to ear. He had no idea why he wanted to piss off Young Gilbert, but it made him happy.

"Bonnie!" Jeremy called upstairs as he glared at Damon.

"Why don't you leave and come back at a reasonable time".

"I don't understand why Elena or Bonnie give you the time of day. Are you compelling them to even speak to you? You had Elena trying to decide between you and Stefan last year compromising herself at every turn and now you have Bonnie, who obviously went through hell last year and what exactly are you doing with her?" Jeremy asked.

Damon leaned forward and smiled into Jeremy's face, "Wouldn't you like to know?" he smirked.

Jeremy rose his fist and punched Damon in the face sending his flying into the bookcase knocking books off and immediately his face transformed. Damon charged after Jeremy, but not before he heard Bonnie's voice cut through the air, "Damon…Jeremy… what are you doing!" Bonnie shouted as she rushed down the steps in a robe.

Jeremy turned and looked at her as Damon transformed his face back to his human visage, "Bonnie, what is going on with you and Damon?" he asked staring at her.

"Nothing", Bonnie said, "he's just being a friend".

"What kind of friend?" Jeremy asked walking closer to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…you're here dressed in a robe, getting out of the shower and he's here…I've seen this before, he had Elena sneaking around behind Stefan's back…Bonnie, don't let him manipulate you too".

"Damon's not manipulating me Jer", Bonnie shook her head.

"Then what is going on. You say you can't be with me, but you can be with him?"

"I'm not with him".

"So you're just sleeping with him?" Jeremy asked with an edge in his voice, "because you said you wanted to stay a virgin until the right time…but I guess being with Klaus really did change you".

Bonnie looked at Jeremy and that's when she slapped him, "I'm not with Damon in any way…he's being a friend, a much better friend then you are right now".

"I'm…I'm sorry", Jeremy stumbled over his words.

"Jeremy, I'm not with anyone…I am trying to get back to the life that I had before everything happened with Klaus, I'm sorry that you're hurt…but I don't like you coming here and assuming things about me…I want you to go".

"Bonnie, I didn't mean what I said to you", Jeremy apologized.

"I know…but you really should go", Bonnie replied.

Jeremy nodded as he glared at Damon and walked out of the front door.

"Bonnie…", Damon began.

"It's daylight now, I doubt Klaus will show up, maybe you should go too. I need to get dressed and Elena and Caroline want me to meet them for brunch downtown", Bonnie said turning away from him.

"Bonnie, I thought Klaus meant he was your first vampire…I didn't realize…", Damon spoke up.

She turned to him and cut him off, "See you later Damon", she stated before turning and walking up the stairs.

SSSSS

"I can't believe that school starts on Monday", Caroline whined as she bit into her sandwich, "it seems like the summer went so fast".

"It did, but this is our Senior Year…I have a feeling that its going to be great!" Elena beamed, "or at least, better than last year".

"Klaus is still lurking around", Bonnie spoke up as she stabbed at the lettuce on her plate.

Caroline and Elena frowned, "But he's not around now and we're ready for him, he won't win in any way this time", Caroline reached across the table and took Bonnie's hand.

"I know he won't".

"And now that Damon has assigned himself the role as body guard, you will be ok", Elena smiled.

"Jeremy came over this morning, we had a big fight", Bonnie frowned.

"He told me".

"He thinks that something is going on between me and Damon".

"That's ridiculous, you and Damon…hardly…"

"Well he said some hurtful things and I know he's angry with me for breaking up with him, but I just can't be with him…I feel bad, but what else can I do?" Bonnie asked.

"Bonnie, we all understand and Jeremy will too with time", Elena replied.

"Oooh I'm sorry guys, but I have to go. My mother has requested my presence at her office…who knows what this is about, I will talk to you all later", Caroline said hugging Elena and rushing over to hug Bonnie before leaving.

Bonnie turned to Elena, "Jeremy mentioned that you and Damon were sneaking behind Stefan's back, is that true?"

Elena frowned, "We weren't sneaking, Damon would just show up and he would say some things and I would find myself thinking 'what if' and I know that it was wrong…I know that Damon is not the person for me, but as much as I hate it…I did think about the what ifs".

"So what stopped you?"

"I just didn't feel the same thing I felt with Stefan when I was with Damon. I can't imagine being without Stefan, I love him".

Bonnie nodded, "So how do you feel about Damon now?"

"He's a friend and that's all he will ever be…why are you so curious?"

Bonnie shrugged.

"Are you starting to feel something for Damon?" Elena whispered.

"No!" Bonnie answered quickly.

"You sure, I realized that you two have some looks going on. I also know that he has been your bodyguard".

"He's not my bodyguard, Damon is trying to make sure that Klaus doesn't come back and wreck havoc on all of us".

"Yes, but he's been especially protective of you", Elena smiled.

"Maybe he feels a little guilty because of why Klaus took me…I don't know".

"Ok let's drop the Damon talk for a moment. Tell me, are you afraid and you can tell me?" Elena said taking Bonnie's hand.

Bonnie looked around, "I am…I'm afraid…I'm afraid that Klaus could be around or have someone around that watches my every move. I know that he's angry, I know that he will not just leave me alone…I know that, but I don't want to constantly look over my shoulder".

"Well you have us and we won't let anything happen to you Bonnie. We will do whatever we have to, to keep you safe".

"Thank you".

"I never want you to think that we take you for granted because we don't", Elena said reaching over and hugging Bonnie.

"I know, but thanks for saying it", Bonnie smiled.

SSSSS

After leaving brunch with Elena, Bonnie returned home and as soon as she walked in the house, she felt someone's presence. She felt in her bag for the dagger as she stepped slowly into the house. "Who's there?" she called.

"Bonnie!" the deep voice called from the kitchen.

Bonnie smiled as she rushed towards the kitchen as the person stood in the doorway, "Daddy!" she grinned as she flew into his arms and he hugged her tightly, "it's soo good to see you".

Bonnie's father hugged her and at that moment, she felt safer than she'd felt in months.

**And yes, that is really Bonnie's dad and he is not being compelled by Klaus—but how will Damon feel about the fact that Bonnie has another protector?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you all for your reviews and comments. I hope you are loving this fic as much as I love writing it. This one is kind of long, I must admit. I got a little carried away here...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing**

Chapter 11

"Not playing bodyguard to Bonnie tonight?" Stefan smirked as he joined Damon in the living room.

"Bonnie's father is in town and she told me not to show up. Even though, she should be aware that her father can't protect her from Klaus".

"Are you jealous?"

"Jealous of what?"

"That Bonnie would rather have her father as her protector as opposed to you?"

"First of all, I am not Bonnie's protector…we need a witch on our team and I am keeping her safe".

"Is that it?"

"That's it".

"You sure?"

"Stefan what do you want me to say? If it makes you happy, I'm not going after Elena anymore…so you should be happy".

Stefan clenched his jaw, "Elena has nothing to do with this".

"Uh, huh", Damon smirked as he took a sip of his drink, "you know, Jeremy came after me a couple of days ago…almost killed him".

"Why would you do that?" Stefan asked.

"He punched me in the face…he had his chest all puffed out because he thought that I was bedding Bonnie and he couldn't be further from the truth".

"Jeremy is hurt that she ended things with him".

"So what, he's a teenager…he will have plenty of other girlfriends, he's lucky Bonnie stopped me".

Stefan shook his head, "What are we doing about Klaus, right not it's like we're waiting for him to strike".

"Bonnie is looking into finding him".

"Are we sure that he hasn't compelled her to do anything else? Before when you were running around telling us that Bonnie was sent back to kill us, I didn't believe you—but after what you said about her removing the dagger, I don't know".

"Bonnie seems to think that the compulsion is over and if not, she's protecting herself against it".

"I wonder what Klaus did to her, she's different…", Stefan began.

"Just don't ask her about it ok, let it go…let's just deal with what we have going on at the moment".

"I can see why Jeremy thought it was more going on than what you two say", Stefan smirked as he walked out of the room.

SSSSS

Bonnie sat across from her father at the dinner table eating her dessert. Even though he was barely in Mystic Falls most of the time, the sense of security that she felt when she walked into the house and saw him was indescribable. "Hey, Baby…what's going on?" Michael Bennett asked.

"I'm just happy that you're here that's all, it's been so long since we've seen each other".

"I was only gone for two weeks".

Bonnie smiled as tears sprang to her eyes. Two weeks for him, a year for her, "I know, but I'm about to start senior year and after that I leave for college".

"And what about college…are you staying here in Mystic Falls or are you thinking about going somewhere else?"

"I'm staying in Mystic Falls", Bonnie answered without hesitation. She spent a year away from her home and despite all of the craziness in Mystic Falls, after spending a year away from Mystic Falls, she could not imagine leaving so soon.

"Really Bonnie, you could go anywhere".

"I know but Mystic Falls is my home".

"Ok, well what else is new…I haven't seen Jeremy around".

"We broke up".

"Broke up…why?"

"I was holding him back and I didn't want to do that anymore".

"I can't believe that…you are focused, intelligent and not to mention a pretty girl…oh well, who's the new guy?" Michael asked taking a bite of his pie.

"There is no new guy", Bonnie shook her head.

"Really…I thought there was, you seem different".

Bonnie felt her stomach drop into her shoes.

"And what happened to your face again, I don't remember that scar a couple of weeks ago", Michael replied.

"I tripped in the kitchen and there was some glass on the floor".

Michael raised an eyebrow, "Well we can see about a plastic surgeon".

Bonnie touched the scar on her face. A plastic surgeon? She thought of it when she was being held by Klaus, but she realized that the scar on her face was a part of her now…or maybe Klaus had embedded something in her to make her keep it.

"Yes…a plastic surgeon", Bonnie said putting her hand down.

"I mean, you are beautiful baby, I don't want you to think otherwise".

"I…I know", Bonnie nodded as she put the pie in her mouth.

Later that night, Bonnie searched for a spell to get rid of Klaus when she glanced at the television and there was a pregnant woman walking into a restaurant with her husband…

_She sat on the bed in her bedroom flipping through the grimoire. She had spent weeks trying to make a dagger out of a part of her wardrobe that she had broken off days ago. She needed to enchant it, so that when she finally killed Klaus, it would work. She had spent weeks trying to keep her other side from coming out. The other part of her could never handle the relationship with Klaus at this point. As she searched the grimoire, her eyes landed on a spell. She read it quickly and then ripped it out of the grimoire. There was no way that she would ever use this spell…it would give Klaus exactly what he wanted. _

Bonnie opened her eyes and immediately went to a jacket in her closet. She felt in one of the inside pockets and pulled out the crumbled piece of paper. The other side of her had ripped this out of the grimoire and probably planned to get rid of it, but why didn't she?

"A spell to make someone human for 24 hours", Bonnie whispered, "did I ever cast this spell for him?"

SSSSS

The next morning, Bonnie looked in the mirror and blew her hair out of her face. It was the first day of her senior year and she wished that the butterflies in her stomach would die down. She had missed a year of school and with some creative witchery, she was able to change some very important records to make it appear as though she was studying abroad. She touched her face and the scar. She knew that there would be stares and whispering, but she was ready for it. She hoped that she could ignore them.

"Bonnie, shouldn't you be going?" her father leaned in the doorway sipping on his coffee.

"Yes…I'm leaving", she replied brushing her hair down and attempting to somewhat hide the scar.

"Hey…it's ok Bonnie, you look beautiful", he stated.

"Thanks Dad, I will see you after school", she picked up her bag.

"Have a good day!" he called as Bonnie walked down the stairs.

SSSSS

Bonnie parked her car in the lot by the football field and took a few deep breaths. This was the first step of her starting to reclaim her life. She unlocked the doors and stepped out of her car looking around as people hurried into the building. "Bonnie", Jeremy said from behind her.

Bonnie turned around to see Jeremy behind, "Hey Jer".

"You look nice".

"Thanks".

"I wanted to apologize again about the other day, I was wrong to assume anything about you and Damon".

"Jeremy, I understand…it probably looked really bad".

"But I knew better, I know that you would never feel anything for someone like Damon…I just remember the way he made Elena believe that he was a good guy".

"Damon has helped me a lot Jeremy, I know how horrible Damon was and how horrible he can be , but he has helped me a lot since I came back and I am grateful to him for that".

"Bonnie, why is it that he can help you and I can't?" Jeremy asked in a wounded voice.

Bonnie reached up and touched Jeremy's cheek, "Jeremy, I want you to know that what we had was so special to me and when I was with Klaus, those moments were ones that I looked back on and smiled about, but the girl that you wanted…the girl who you had a relationship with is not the girl that you are looking at now".

"But you are, Bonnie whatever happened with Klaus…"

"Whatever happened with Klaus changed me and I just want you to be happy…with someone else", Bonnie hugged him, "please can you just do that?"

"I don't want to, but I will", he whispered, "but first, can I escort you into school?"

"Yes…yes, you can do that", Bonnie smiled as Jeremy wrapped his arm around her and walked with her into the high school.

SSSSSS

"What are you doing lurking around here?" Alaric Saltzman asked as he erased the chalkboard in his classroom.

"Just checking out the school making sure it's still here and all that good stuff", Damon smirked as he leaned on the desk.

"Right, well I have another class in about five minutes soo…"

"Ok, let's say I have a friend…wait…not exactly a friend but an acquaintance and they went through hell on earth last year and is kind of a fruitcake…well, when they went through hell something horrible happened to them that a lot of people don't come back from…"

"Let me guess, the acquaintance is Bonnie Bennett and you are talking about something that Klaus did to her", Alaric replied as leaned against his desk.

"Did I say it was Bonnie…no…you think I care about what happens to her?" Damon scoffed, "not at all".

"Damon just because I just got back from China, does not mean I don't know what's been going on…a matter of fact, Jeremy came in earlier and he is worried about Bonnie as well, only he's worried about you and what you may be doing to Bonnie".

"I'm not doing anything to witch!" Damon barked.

"Wow…getting a little emotional there Damon, is something else going on between you and Bonnie that you're not saying".

"No and just because Bonnie and I are getting along and might I add…everyone has been hounding us to start getting along for forever, so why is it a big deal now?"

"Ok, so what do you need help with?" Alaric asked.

"We need to figure out a game plan for when Klaus comes back to town because either he's coming to Mystic Falls or he will lure Bonnie out of Mystic Falls, I think it may be the latter".

"What can we really do without Bonnie…I take it, you don't want her involved in this".

"I don't know if she _can_ be involved in this…the girl is still not right", Damon replied as the bell began going off signaling the changing of periods.

"Well let me know how I can help…", Alaric began as the class filtered in and Damon turned around to see Bonnie and Elena walking in chatting away.

"Damon, what are you doing here?" Elena asked looking at him inquisitively.

Bonnie searched Damon's face as well for answers.

"Ric just got back, I thought I would pay him a visit…that's it…see you teens a little later", Damon said walking out of the classroom.

When he walked out of the room he turned back around and noticed that Bonnie was staring at him. He moved away from the door quickly and began walking down the hallway. When Elena and Bonnie walked into the room, his eyes immediately went Bonnie…since when did that happen?

SSSSSS

"This is just like old times!" Caroline grinned as she plopped down next to Bonnie and Elena at the lunch table later that day.

"Only people are constantly staring at me as if I have a sign on me…oh wait…it's the gigantic scar on my face", Bonnie smirked.

"Did your dad find a plastic surgeon?"

"Yes, he says that we can go to Richmond in a couple of days for a consult".

"Can't you just do a spell?" Caroline whispered.

"I probably could, I don't know why I didn't a long time ago…maybe Klaus made me keep the scar…I don't know, but I can't do one now—my father would get a little suspicious".

"It's ok, I think the scar makes you look tough", Caroline smiled.

"Caroline", Elena shook her head.

"It does, I don't want you to think that you have to get rid of it…we love you no matter what", Caroline grinned hugging Bonnie.

"I know, I guess that getting rid of the scar is one of the ways that I can start to remove everything that Klaus did to me out of my life or at least try to and besides people won't feel need to give themselves whiplash when they turn their heads around in order to make it appear as if they weren't staring".

"Well moving on to other subjects, would you like to tell us exactly what you are doing with Damon?" Caroline asked.

"What?" Bonnie asked as she noticed Elena become a little uncomfortable.

"You and Damon, you went to find Klaus and that took two days…did you drive all night or did you stay somewhere and Elena says that you two have been spending a lot of time together…"

"We're just friends".

"You weren't friends before", Caroline replied, "as a matter of fact, you pretty much hated each other".

"Damon has been nice to me since I came back. I think it's because I went with Stefan to get the blood from Klaus and I was only there because I wanted to help save him, I guess he's not as bad as we thought".

"Oh my god, have you converted too?" Caroline whined, "you watch your back around Damon, he is not to be trusted".

"I know Care, but he's been trustworthy so far".

"What do you two have secrets?" Elena spoke up.

"No…no…it's just that, he's been a good person to me and I believe that if I were to confess something to him, he would keep it between us".

Caroline gave Bonnie a doubtful smirk as Elena focused on her sandwich. If Bonnie had to guess, she would think that Elena was a little jealous and that made her a little uneasy.

SSSSSS

During the drive home after school, Bonnie noticed that Elena was especially quiet, so Bonnie decided to speak up, "Are you angry that I am spending so much time with Damon?" she asked.

Elena turned to her and shook her head, "No…not at all…I mean, I never would have guessed that the person you would become so close to would be Damon. I'm happy that you're feeling better despite the circumstances, but I just feel like something is missing between us".

Bonnie stopped in front of Elena's house, "Nothing is missing between us. I think I have some parts missing, but nothing is wrong with us. Elena, I missed you so much while I was gone and I know that I haven't been exactly able to talk to you about what happened with Klaus, but one day I may…just not right now".

Elena nodded, "I just want you to know that I am here for you and if you feel more comfortable talking to Damon, that is fine with me as well…I know from experience that he can be less of a jackass at times".

Bonnie smiled as Elena reached over and hugged her, "I love you Bon", Elena whispered in her ear.

"I love you too", Bonnie answered.

SSSSSS

Later that night, Bonnie stood in front of the mirror in a t-shirt and boyshorts, she pulled her hair up in a high ponytail and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled and focused on the scar on her face that appeared to stop her smile from spreading across her face. She leaned closer and waved her hand across her cheek and the scar magically disappeared. She smiled in the mirror again, "You will be ok", she whispered as she waved her hand over her cheek again and the scar magically appeared again.

Damon stood outside of Bonnie's house asking again why he was even there. He had been asking that question almost every day since she reappeared in their lives. He looked through the living room window and noticed Michael Bennett typing away on a laptop and talking on the phone. Damon crouched down and then jumped up to Bonnie's open window. He stared at her for a few moments staring in the mirror. It looked as if she was posing, she would smile and then she would frown. It was weird.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked scrunching up his face as he stepped into the room.

"Damon…what the…", Bonnie gasped as she backed up into the dresser, "why do you keep scaring me!"

"You should always be on alert", he smirked as he plopped down on her bed.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked walking over to him and folding her arms.

"I thought that I would pay you a visit since we haven't seen each other in such a long time".

"Right", she replied rescuing one of her stuffed animals from being smothered by Damon's large frame.

"You act as if you are not happy to see me, I'm hurt Bonnie", Damon frowned.

She laughed, "You are really in a special mood tonight".

"Always…so how is it with Daddy Dear being back?"

"Good, he's had a calming effect on me…things are almost normal".

"Except for the fact that Klaus is out there".

"I know he is. I've tried everything that I could think of to find him, but he must have some kind of block to stop me from locating him", Bonnie shrugged as she sat down on the bed.

"Well until you find him, I will be here to make sure he doesn't come after you".

Bonnie turned to Damon sitting next to her, "Why?"

"Haven't you grown tired of asking that question?"

"No because you never answer it seriously".

"Because like I said, you didn't deserve what Klaus did to you and I want to make sure that it never happens again. Despite your judgy little attitude and your superiority complex…"

Bonnie gasped, "_I_ have a superiority complex?"

"Yes all you witches do".

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "And what kind of complex do you vampires have?"

"Hey…we never claimed to be innocent and good…we're monsters, we know that…but you witches, you are supposed to be good, you keep the baddies from taking over the world".

"Is that what my other personality did?"

"I think she was a product of what you went through with Klaus".

"I think so too, but I know that if I tried…I could be exactly like her".

"Oh no…we don't want that", Damon shook his head, "not at all, she liked to torture me".

"She was just playing with you", Bonnie smiled at him.

"Oh is that it and by the way, you owe me a hundred dollars".

"For what?"

"She burned up one of my shirts".

"Oh please, you have plenty of shirts".

"How do you know how many shirts I have, have you been looking in my closet Goody Bennett?" Damon raised an eyebrow and leaned over closer to her.

"I'm not giving you any money for a shirt".

"That's pretty cold Bonnie".

Bonnie shrugged as she concentrated on the blanket, "So is she gone for good?" Damon asked.

"She hasn't shown up, she didn't show up even after I brought Klaus back—I think she's gone. I'm glad".

"Why are you glad…I mean, I am too, but I thought she was your protector".

"But do I really need her, she's a part of me so I should be able to tap into whatever power she had on my own and I can be strong without splitting in two…can't I?" Bonnie asked looking at Damon, "I know that she appeared because I felt like my situation was impossible, but I think I'm stronger now and I can handle whatever happens".

"Well I much rather deal with you than her".

"Thanks, I think", Bonnie smirked.

"So what were you doing when I walked in?" Damon asked changing the subject.

"What are you talking about?"

"In the mirror, what were you doing?" he gestured towards the mirror.

"Oh…nothing…"

"Nothing, it looked like something…practicing your pageant smile?"

"Like I could be in any pageant with this", she gestured towards her cheek, "actually, I was trying to see what it would be like without this scar. My dad is taking me to Richmond on Friday to see a plastic surgeon".

"So you're getting it removed?" Damon asked.

"Yes, I figure that it's one thing that I can fix".

Damon was quiet for a few moments, "You know, you don't have to get it removed".

Bonnie looked over at Damon and nodded, "I know".

SSSSS

"So are you coming back later tonight?" Elena asked as Bonnie put her books in her locker.

"Probably early tomorrow morning", Bonnie said closing her bookbag.

"Bonnie, are you ready?" Mr. Bennett asked from behind them.

"Hello Mr. Bennett", Elena waved.

"Hi Elena, nice to see you", he greeted her.

"Daddy, I thought that you had a meeting and I would meet you at home", Bonnie replied as she lifted her bookbag on her shoulder.

"Finished the meeting up early, so I thought we could get on the road".

"Oh…ok…well Elena, I guess I will call you tonight".

"Yes, call me…let me know how things went", Elena hugged her.

"See you later", Bonnie smiled as she starting walking away with her father, "oh Elena…I forgot that book that you needed for the history assignment at home, do you want to go pick it up?"

"Sure…is the key still in the old place?" Elena asked.

"Yes".

"Well I will just open the door that way, get on the road and I will see you when you get back".

"Ok", Bonnie smiled as her father ushered her out of the school.

SSSSSS

Elena pulled up in front of Bonnie's house and headed towards the front door and as soon as she reached the stairs, she felt someone behind her. She turned around and bumped into Damon, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Coming to see our favorite witch", Damon smiled.

Elena smirked, "She's not here, she went to Richmond with her dad…but, you have really taken on this role as Bonnie's protector…is there more to the story?"

"And what would 'more to the story' mean Elena?"

"Meaning do you feel more for Bonnie than just a casual acquaintance?"

"You know before when Bonnie and I would always snipe at each other, you wanted us to be friends and now that we are friends…everyone thinks there is more".

"Well is there?" Elena asked.

Damon leaned forward, "No…there is nothing else there…friendship that is all".

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure", Damon answered as Elena started walking up the stairs. She lifted the angel up to retrieve the house key, but before she could open the door, the door opened on its own and Michael Bennett stood in the doorway.

Elena stood up as Damon stood behind her.

"Elena, hi…what are you doing here…is Bonnie with you?" Michael asked.

"She went with you", Elena replied slowly.

Damon heard the tone in Elena's voice and suddenly he went on high alert.

Michael shook his head, "I had a meeting, the plan was to meet here…did Bonnie say she was meeting me?"

"Noooo", Elena said slowly as she turned to look at Damon who returned her gaze and then sped away from the house.

SSSSSS

"Daddy, do you want me to set up the navigation?" Bonnie asked as she touched the screen in her father's Navigator.

"No", he replied looking at the room.

"But you always get lost", Bonnie chuckled as she started to type in the city, "what's the address?"

"I know where I'm going Bonnie", he said concentrating on the road.

"Daddy, I know…but we would like to get there today".

"I know where I'm going!" he barked.

Bonnie frowned and looked out of the window, "Well ok then…did your meeting not go well?"

Her father said nothing.

Bonnie turned back and before her eyes, her father's face started to change along with his entire body into someone that she didn't recognize. She immediately turned to the door and started to unlock it. "If you touch the lock, I will make one call and the vampire outside of your father's house will go in and destroy him", the man growled.

Bonnie looked at him, "Are you a vampire?" she asked.

He turned to her, "Yes, so you know I mean what I say".

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Good", she said as she watched the vampire grab his head taking both of his hands off the steering wheel. Bonnie grabbed the steering wheel, but not before the truck went flying down a hill into the woods. Bonnie braced herself for impact as the truck continued down the path. She closed her eyes as she felt herself lurch forward and her airbag hit her in the face; it felt like someone had punched her.

As the airbag deflated, she opened her eyes and turned to the vampire. A tree branch had come through the windshield and impaled him. He was a shriveled corpse. Bonnie unhooked her seatbelt as she felt blood dripping from her nose. She must have hit it on the airbag. She tried to open the door but it refused to budge. She looked over at the shriveled corpse. The fact that he was here with her and not her father meant one thing, Klaus was nearby. She leaned over and kicked the window with the heel of her boot a few times. She heard it crack and she continued to kick until the window shattered.

She grabbed her bag off of the floor and slid out of the window trying not to cut herself. She got out of the truck and ran away from it. She immediately felt dizzy dropping to her knees as she grabbed her head and crawled away from the truck. She fished her cell phone out of her bag and began to unlock it, when she felt the air change around her.

She stood up and turned around slowly to see Klaus standing by the truck behind her.

"My Precious Bonnie, did you think I would allow our reunion to have a detour?" Klaus said as he sped over to her and caressed her cheek, "I wouldn't dream of it".

Bonnie stared at Klaus as her phone slowly dropped to the ground.

**:-) Please leave a review or comment**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you all for the comments and reviews! This chapter is pretty lengthy as well...it has some Klaus-Bonnie action, as well as Damon-Other Bonnie action. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Mr. Bennett doesn't know anything, Caroline had to compel him to believe that Bonnie went on some school trip…Klaus is behind this Stefan", Elena paced the room as Caroline stood in the doorway.

"And Damon just took off?" Stefan asked.

Elena nodded, "As soon as Mr. Bennett asked if Bonnie was with me, Damon took off…I guess he went looking for Bonnie, but he doesn't know where she is or where Klaus would have her".

"I guess he's trying to do all that he can", Stefan replied, "and we need to do all that we can, we need to call Lucy and get her to come to Mystic Falls—she should know a spell to find Bonnie wherever Klaus may have her".

"I will try to get in touch with her", Elena said leaving the room dialing her cell phone.

"I will find Tyler, maybe we can search around the school or along the highway…maybe Bonnie got away", Caroline said.

"Report back", Stefan stated.

Caroline nodded as she left the house.

Stefan walked over to the window and ran his hands through his hair. This was not happening again. This could not be happening again. He was just starting to allow some of his guilt to subside and now, Klaus had somehow tracked down Bonnie.

"I found this", Damon's voice disturbed Stefan's thoughts.

Stefan turned around and noticed Damon clutching a cell phone.

"What's that?" Stefan asked walking closer.

"Bonnie's cell phone, I found it not far from Mystic Falls in the woods…next to a crashed truck like the one Bonnie's father has".

"The truck was abandoned?"

"No, there was a driver in there…a dead one…well, apparently he was a vampire but he's most certainly dead now. It appeared that the passenger window had been kicked out and Bonnie's blood was on the airbag".

"So what does that mean?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know what it means, but what I know is that bastard Klaus will not win this one", Damon snarled as he left Stefan in the living room and headed upstairs.

SSSSSS

"Get off of me!" Bonnie fought one of Klaus' minions as he carried her into an old mansion. The more she fought, the tighter the vampire held her. Her headache from the accident had yet to subside and she was sure she had a concussion, but she would never let Klaus know that she was weakened.

"Pierre, sit my little Minx down please", Klaus ordered the vampire.

The vampire sat Bonnie down as Klaus walked over to her, "Leave us", he ordered as the vampire nodded and walked out of the room with a woman with red hair. Bonnie figured that was Klaus' witch. She had to be the one who made that vampire appear to look exactly like her father.

"My Precious…it's been so long since we've been together", Klaus said reaching out to touch Bonnie's face, but she twisted her hand which resulted in his wrist twisting and she could hear the bones breaking, "oh…could it be that you have come to play", he asked holding his broken wrist.

"Let me go and I won't make you suffer before I kill you", Bonnie answered.

"Oh…is this my favorite Bonnie or is the Bonnie who was defiant…tell me, which one plotted my death?" he asked leaning forward.

"There's only one of me and the one that is here now, will not let you win".

"We will see about that", Klaus stared into her eyes.

Bonnie stared back at him with a paralyzing glare.

"I am very disappointed in you Bonnie", Klaus walked around her, "you tried to end our relationship so prematurely".

Bonnie watched as he walked around her and went through a million spells in her head, but she knew that Klaus was like a ticking time bomb.

"And you tried to have my love mark removed", Klaus replied caressing her cheek, "how could you do that?"

Bonnie closed her eyes fighting every instinct to cry.

"I can hear your heart beating, I can hear it beating rapidly", he said gazing into her eyes, "tell me, what's wrong…do you think that I would hurt you?"

"You have hurt me already", Bonnie said looking at him.

"By making lo…"

"Don't say that to me…do not call it that", Bonnie shook her head glaring at Klaus.

"But we were trying to make a child, how else would you describe it?"

The words stuck in Bonnie's throat as she felt the tears building in her eyes, "What do you want with me?"

"You know what I want Bonnie, but first…I am very angry with you for stabbing me with that dagger".

Bonnie looked at him and suddenly she felt an intense pain in her head as she gripped the side of her head and fell to her knees, "Do you feel the pain?" Klaus whispered in her ear as she screamed, "do you feel the pain that you unleash on others…is it really there? Or is it all in your head?"

Bonnie closed her eyes tightly as the pain increased.

"Bonnie, I want to love you…I want to be the person that you have a child with, but you make it so hard".

Bonnie looked up at him as he kneeled down in front of her, "Now, do you want to stop being so difficult or should I punish you more?"

Bonnie looked up at him as she felt the blood running from her nose, "I'm sorry", she managed to squeeze out.

"What was that?" Klaus cupped his ear and leaned closer to her.

"I'm sorry!" Bonnie screamed as the pain subsided.

"I know you are", Klaus said helping her up, "but its ok, I forgive you".

Bonnie looked at him as he wiped the blood from her face with his thumb and then he tasted it, "I've missed the taste of your blood", Klaus smiled as he kissed her softly on the lips.

As Klaus kissed her, Bonnie formulated a plan. There was no way that she would allow herself to split into two. There was no way that she would allow him to touch her ever again in a way that almost killed her. There was no way that Klaus would walk out of this house to torture her again. She would kill Klaus and she would make him hurt.

SSSSSS

"Ric, I need you to replicate this", Damon said opening a box as Alaric peered inside.

"Where did you get that?" Alaric looked down into the box.

"I found it".

"Damon, what are you up to?"

"Just do it, we need you to do it fast…we have to get to Bonnie and Klaus now", Damon said as he walked towards the door.

"We're all coming with you", Elena stood up.

"Oh no, we can't concentrate on what's going on with you or Vampire Barbie when we go into this place", Damon shook his head.

"Look, Bonnie always stepped up where I was concerned and I am helping now", Elena stood firm.

Damon looked over at Stefan for help.

"Elena, maybe just Damon…Alaric and I…"Stefan began.

Damon looked at Elena, "You know what, you are coming…you can help".

SSSSS

After Klaus informed her that he had other matters to attend to, he had one of his vampire thugs escort her to her room. When Bonnie stepped into the room, Pierre slammed the door and locked Bonnie inside.

She sat on the bed and opened her bag and searched it. The dagger was gone…she turned the bag upside down and shook it. She always kept the dagger with her and it was gone; how could that be? That was the key of getting rid of Klaus once and for all and it was gone. She closed her eyes and screamed in her mind.

"This cannot be happening…this cannot be happening…it can't be", Bonnie mumbled as she searched the bag.

She must have dropped it after the accident. "Damn it!" she screamed as she sat down on the floor and looked around the room.

She refused to stay in this house as Klaus prisoner. Every time she looked at him, she felt like she wanted to vomit. The other part of her was the perfect witch for Klaus. She was his lover, she was his right hand witch and all the while she was planning to kill him.

Bonnie wasn't sure when he compelled her to come back and remove the dagger, but he must have done it before the other part of her came to be.

That night that Klaus forced himself on her changed her. She knew it, she hated to admit it, but it changed her. Her virginity wasn't something that she planned on keeping for marriage, she just wanted to wait until she was absolutely sure and the guy that she was with made it feel right. Klaus had taken that away from her and it had wrecked her. She thought that when she woke up in Mystic Falls that things could be normal. That was the furthest from the truth at this point.

SSSSS

Stefan watched Damon sit in a chair turning the pages in one of the many spell books in the library, "Lucy is on her way".

"You trust her to find Bonnie? The last time Bonnie asked for help from her family split her in two…I don't trust Lucy to do anything", Damon said slamming the book closed and throwing it against the wall putting a nice size hole in it.

"Damon, you need to calm down".

"Am I the only one who realizes that Bonnie is with Klaus…Klaus…the psycho that held her captive for a year and…", Damon exploded but then stopped, "look, I told her that I would protect her and the fact that she was taken by him again makes me a liar and I don't particularly care to be a liar in this situation…others…fine…but this one, I don't like it".

"We will find Bonnie, Elena is going to pick Lucy up at the airport with Caroline and…"

"Stefan do you not understand that we don't have time for this!" Damon barked, "Klaus is angry. She killed him and he can't be too happy about that".

"I know, but he wants a witch…"

"You know what, I'm going upstairs to see if I can find some contacts and track down Bonnie…you stay here and wait for the witch express to come in", Damon turned around and headed upstairs.

SSSSSS

"Do you think she will be able to find Bonnie?" Caroline asked as she searched baggage claim for Lucy.

"Yes, she's a witch and when Rose and Trevor kidnapped me, Bonnie was able to find me…so Lucy should be able to do the same".

"I don't understand why she was missing all last year when we needed her".

"That doesn't matter, she's here now Care".

"Are you scared Elena?" Caroline whispered, "because I am, I want to believe that we will get Bonnie back this time, but how can we be soo sure?"

"Care, we're not letting Klaus win", Elena replied as she saw Lucy walking towards them. Elena breathed a sigh of relief. She was sure that with Lucy, they would be able to get Bonnie back and somehow kill Klaus.

"Hello Ladies", Lucy greeted them, "you need my help?"

"Yes, Klaus has Bonnie and we need your help to find her".

"This _would_ be the first thing that I have to deal with when I come back from Paris, but I will do anything for a Bennett…let's go", Lucy said as she Elena and Caroline moved to walked outside to the parking lot.

"He's only had her for a day, but after last year—we need her back as soon as possible", Elena began.

"He did bad things to her, she won't tell us what…but maybe she will tell you", Caroline added.

"Lucy, you will be able to find a spell won't you…", Elena asked as she turned around and then stopped in her tracks as Caroline stopped with her.

Lucy was standing behind them frozen in place. Klaus had his arm wrapped around her throat, "Hello Ladies", he smiled.

"Let her go", Caroline said vamping out.

"A young vampire, so cute", Klaus said focusing on Caroline, "stay in place", he ordered.

Caroline felt paralyzed as she looked at Klaus holding onto to Lucy who was struggling to breathe.

"Elena, it is a pleasure to see you again of course", Klaus winked.

"Where's Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"Bonnie is…safe".

"Is she…what do you want with her?" Elena asked.

"Now that is between Bonnie and I", Klaus said, "and I don't appreciate you bringing in other witches".

Elena watched as Klaus turned Lucy around to face him. "No…no…", Elena screamed as she shook her head as she watched Klaus twist Lucy's neck and send her crashing to the ground in a heap.

Elena started to move, but Klaus sped over to her, "Do not try to ruin my time with Bonnie again", he hissed and then he disappeared.

Caroline was released from her paralysis and she looked at Lucy, "No…no…nooo", Caroline dropped down next to Lucy biting into her wrist, "she's the only hope we have", she cried as she placed her wrist against Lucy's mouth.

Elena felt the tears start to run down her eyes as she dialed Stefan.

SSSSSS

"Wait…what do you mean Klaus showed up?" Stefan gripped his cell phone.

Damon heard Stefan from his room and raced downstairs.

Stefan put Elena on speaker, "He showed up out of nowhere Stefan, he grabbed Lucy…Caroline couldn't move and then he broke her neck…Caroline's blood couldn't save her, she's dead!" Elena said in almost hysterics.

Damon shook his head and walked over to the wall punching it, "What are we going to do now?"

"Elena get Caroline to put Lucy in your car, I will meet you guys at the tomb…we will have to bury her", Stefan sighed.

"Ok…but how will we find Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"We will find a way", Stefan said before hanging up.

Stefan looked at Damon, "We are going to find her".

"You go help them", Damon replied.

Stefan nodded as he walked towards the door, "Damon, don't do anything crazy".

"I won't…I know I can't go into this alone".

"Good", Stefan replied.

SSSSSS

The next morning, Bonnie rubbed her temples as she sat on the bed in her room. "Knock, knock", Klaus said opening the door.

Bonnie looked up at him.

"Pierre tells me you didn't eat", he replied bringing in a tray.

"I'm not hungry".

"Oh really, well I have some news".

"What kind of news?"

"I saw Elena and Caroline, they were at the airport outside of Mystic Falls".

"At the airport, why?"

"They were meeting your cousin, I think her name was Lucy".

Bonnie felt a lump form in her throat, "What do you mean _was_?"

"Bonnie, they were trying to break us up".

Bonnie got up from the bed and walked over to him, "What did you do?"

"Lucy had an unfortunate accident…"

She shook her head, "What…accident…"

"Yes, unfortunately she's dead".

"You killed her?"

"Bonnie, I want you to know something. It is an honor for me to choose you to be the mother of my child and call me crazy, but I don't think you are excited about having this honor".

"I hate you, what did I ever do to you!" Bonnie spat out as she shot her arm out causing Klaus' legs to buckle as he fell to the floor.

She knew that she could never kill him without the dagger, but she would make him hurt a lot.

"Bonnie…", Klaus struggled to get back up, but she shot out her arm and his arm broke.

"I know that I can't kill you, I know that…but I'm going to make our time as unpleasant as I possibly can", she replied.

He smiled, "You are becoming…the witch…that I always wanted…", he gasped trying to disguise his pain.

Bonnie sent a ball of fire into his chest and she felt no remorse as she watched him fall to the floor trying to pat out the flames. As soon as they were out, he was up off the floor in the blink of an eye and pushed Bonnie into the wall sending plaster falling down her back, "You know that I could kill you with one snap of your neck", he snarled at her.

"And before you do that I will bring this house down with both of us in it making sure that you get thousands of splinters that may not kill you, but will hurt like hell", Bonnie hissed looking directly into his eyes.

"You make me very happy when you say things like that", Klaus smiled placing his hand on her cheek, "Amelia!"

Suddenly the witch entered the bedroom, "Bonnie, this is Amelia…I found her after I left you and Damon in that house".

Bonnie looked at Amelia standing behind Klaus and she had the coldest eyes Bonnie had ever laid eyes on next to Klaus'.

"Amelia here…", Klaus began as he allowed his hand to trail away from Bonnie's face, "is a powerful witch. Of course, she is not as powerful as you, Bonnie with the strength of your ancestors…but nevertheless, Amelia can do wonders".

Bonnie looked at Amelia, she didn't look much older than Bonnie. She guessed that she was in her early twenties.

"I'm actually in my 50's, its amazing what magic can do", Amelia spoke up.

"Yes, Amelia is quite a chameleon…either way, Amelia informed me that you were a little dishonest with me", Klaus said walking around Bonnie.

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie sighed.

"About the spell", Klaus replied, "the spell that would make it possible for you and I to have our child".

Bonnie looked over at Amelia who smirked.

"I find it hard to believe that the all knowing Bennetts would skip over a spell that would allow any supernatural being to be human for 24 hours", Klaus stated, "it's a good thing that I have Amelia here to inform me of such things".

"I don't know anything about this spell", Bonnie lied.

"Oh, I think you do. That is why your heart is beating rapidly, you know all about this spell".

"I don't…I don't know and even if there was a spell…"

"Amelia, when can you perform the spell?" Klaus asked turning to Amelia.

"I can perform it tonight when the moon is at its highest".

"Perfect…Bonnie, I think you should prepare yourself, after the spell has been completed…I plan to come to you and we will create our child, a child that will be more powerful than we could have ever imagined", Klaus said as he moved his head and Amelia left the room.

"Even if we have a child, no part of that child will be a vampire", Bonnie replied.

Klaus smiled at her, "Bonnie, do you take me for a fool? Of course I know that our child would not be a vampire when it is born".

"Then what is the point of all of this?"

Klaus walked over to Bonnie and touched her cheek, "Vampires are made, not born…our child will become a vampire, I will turn he or she into a vampire when the time is right, but you my dear…you my precious…", he caressed her cheek, "will become a vampire much sooner".

Bonnie swallowed, "What are you saying to me?"

"I'm saying that once you are pregnant with our child, I will turn you".

"But the baby won't be able to survive…"

"Oh I think it will, Amelia's life depends on it", he replied touching Bonnie's cheek one last time and then disappearing out of the room.

Bonnie didn't move until she heard the door lock and she jumped.

"This cannot be happening, I can't let this happen", Bonnie mumbled as she walked over to the mirror.

"Then don't let it", a voice much like her own replied.

Bonnie looked up to see her image in the mirror, "I thought you were gone".

"I should be after the way you spoke to me".

"Look, you were wrecking all of my relationships and besides, I don't need you anymore".

"Are you sure about that?"

"I know what Klaus did to me. I've had to face it with Damon knowing and I am not breaking…"

"But you also are aware what will happen in a few hours. The spell will be cast and Klaus will want to come into this room and…"

"Stop it…don't say it", Bonnie said closing her eyes and covering her eyes.

"Bonnie, he has kidnapped you again…he killed your cousin, the only person who could possibly find you and now he has a witch about to cast a spell and make him one step closer to impregnating you with some kind of evil child…let me out and I will help you".

"No", Bonnie said shaking her head, "I don't need you".

"You _do_ need me, you are not strong enough…"

"I am strong enough…I am…I don't need to turn into you to save myself from Klaus, I don't need your help…"

"Yes, you do".

"No I don't…if I let you come out…if I let you do this, that means that Klaus has won…he has changed me...and I won't let him do that to me", Bonnie said.

"Bonnie, I only want to protect you".

"I know that, I know you only want to do that…but I can protect myself".

"Bonnie…you are too fragile".

"No…I will handle this…go away", Bonnie said turning from the mirror.

"Bonnie…"

Bonnie ignored her own voice as she refused to turn around. She had to believe in herself and her abilities again and she couldn't do that as another person. Amelia would cast the spell and Klaus would be human in a matter of hours and everything that goes with it.

SSSSSS

Damon heard Stefan and Elena come into the boarding house hours ago. He also heard Stefan come to his door and knock. He ignored it all. He didn't want to be bothered with any of them. Elena and Caroline let Klaus get the drop on them and he had no interest in hearing Stefan tell him that they would find Bonnie. All he could do at this point was stare out of the window. He had no idea how long he had been standing there, but he saw the sun rise.

"I told you that asking about Klaus would only bring pain", a voice said from behind him.

Damon turned to the mirror and he saw the Other Bonnie staring back at him. He could tell it was her from the look of disdain on her face. He sped over to the mirror and faced her, "Where is Bonnie, do you know?"

"Yes, I know…of course I know, but we wouldn't have this problem if you would have listened to me. I told you…"

"Look, if you care about your other half you will just tell me where she is".

"Oh now you care about what I have to say, I told you not to press about Klaus…but you knew better and now look what happened, you have caused so much…"

Damon charged to the mirror and hit his fists on the dresser, "You can give me this lecture later, tell me where she is!"

"What are you going to do when you find her? She was your weapon against Klaus before, what weapon do you have now?"

"Are we seriously playing this game, he could be doing anything to her and why aren't you there anyway…I thought you were the one who was supposed to protect her".

"She won't let me come out", she replied.

"She won't let you…hmm…is she strong enough to handle Klaus without you?" Damon asked.

"She thinks she is".

"Then she is", Damon replied, "tell me where she is so I can help her".

The image in the mirror looked at him.

"Tell me", he repeated.

"Do you care about us?"

"Tell me where she is", Damon said slowly.

"Do you care about us?" she repeated.

"Would I be here asking you anything if I didn't…now tell me where she is!" Damon yelled.

The image smirked as she disappeared and a house appeared in the mirror.

"Where is that…where is that house?" Damon asked.

"You know exactly where it is…think about it", the image said before disappearing.

"I don't freaking know where that is!" Damon barked closing his eyes and then he opened them…he _did_ know where it was.

**So Damon knows now...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you all for your comments and reviews! I appreciate them. Please leave a review or comment for this chapter…I appreciate everything that you guys have to say. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Chapter 12

After the vision of Bonnie disappeared, Damon sped downstairs and faced Stefan and Elena who were in the living room. They both looked like hell, but he had no time to comment on it, "I know where Klaus has Bonnie".

"Where?" Stefan asked walking over, "and how do you know?"

"Don't worry about that, Alaric is on his way and I have a plan".

"I'm helping", Elena spoke up.

"Ok, fine…whatever", Damon replied.

"Damon, are you sure you know where Bonnie is?" Stefan asked.

"More than sure", he answered as Alaric entered the room.

"So you have the dagger?" Damon asked.

"Yes, but I don't understand…only one of these will work", Alaric replied handing Damon the fake one.

"Just trust me, I know what I am doing…we only need one to work", Damon replied, "we can't afford any mistakes here".

"We won't make any, Klaus underestimated us this time", Stefan added.

"That he did and I need everyone to know their role, we cannot afford for Klaus to get the upper hand in this. This has to be the last time we meet up with him, there is no room for failure", Damon stated.

"We understand", Caroline replied.

"So let's load up the cars and everyone follow their roles to the tee".

Everyone nodded as they filtered out of the room.

SSSSSS

Bonnie paced the bedroom thinking about what she could do to get away from Klaus, but the problem was even if she did get away, she was convinced that he would come after her over and over again. She didn't doubt for one second that he wouldn't make good on every single one of his promises to kill everyone that she cared about. As much as Bonnie hated to admit it, she wished that she could be selfish and worry about getting away from him and that would be that—but she cared about too many people to allow Klaus to kill them or make their lives hell.

Bonnie felt the air in the room change and suddenly the entire house began to shake. Bonnie fell to the floor as a bright light went throughout the house and she knew that the spell had been cast and it would only be a matter of time before Klaus would come to her.

SSSSSS

"Klaus went back to the house where Rose and Trevor held me, but why…wouldn't he know that one of us may check there?" Elena asked as she looked out of the window as Damon drove towards the house.

"Who knows what he thinks, maybe he thinks that after killing Lucy that we would back off", Damon replied.

"What if something goes wrong…what if walking into that house things get ten times worse?" Caroline asked.

"Look, things are going to work…this is my plan and it will work, trust me".

"We trust you Damon, we know that you want Bonnie to be safe just as much as we do", Stefan replied.

"Good and if anyone can't perform their duties, I will pull over this car right now because there is no room for any cowards".

Everyone exchanged looks and said nothing as Damon pressed his foot down and the car sped down the highway.

SSSSSS

Bonnie watched as the doorknob turned to the room and Klaus walked inside. "So do I look any different?" he smiled looking at her and turning around.

Bonnie could sense that he was different. Not completely human, but there was something definitely different.

"You still look like a monster", Bonnie answered, "you still look like the thing that haunts my dreams, you still look like the…"Bonnie went on but was cut off by Klaus speeding over to her and placing his hand over her mouth.

"I thought you were human", Bonnie breathed out as he dropped his hand.

"Now, why would I allow myself to become completely human?" Klaus asked, "so you could find a way to kill me…oh no…Amelia found a loophole in the spell to allow me to keep my vampire abilities, but to allow me to do one important thing…"

"You're sick", Bonnie spat out at him.

"You say the sweetest things", he smiled as he pressed his mouth to Bonnie's and she raised her hand burning Klaus' face as he backed away from her yelling in pain, "I thought that you were going to cooperate and make this easier on both of us".

"If you leave me alone, I won't make it hurt when I kill you", Bonnie said staring at him.

"Oh you think you have the upper hand Bonnie, that's cute", Klaus said as he bared his fangs and rushed over to her knocking her into the wall, "one way or the other, you will bend to my will and you will do exactly what I want you to do".

"Get off of me!" Bonnie screamed as she summoned all of the power that's he had inside and pushed him away from her causing him to fly to the opposite side of the room. He put a dent in the wall as plaster covered him.

Klaus stood up and knocked some of the plaster off of his back, "It appears as though I should take some of the fight out of you", he said grabbing her and biting into her neck.

Bonnie screamed in pain as suddenly Klaus was grabbed away from her. Bonnie fell to the floor and noticed that Damon was standing in front of her holding onto a dagger.

"How…noble…", Klaus chuckled wiping the blood from his lip, "you came to save the witch"

"Would you like to be tortured for a few hours or would you prefer I make it easier for you and let you die in one fell swoop…let me think about what you deserve" , Damon smirked.

Bonnie felt the blood dripping from her neck as she stood up behind Damon.

"Bonnie, what have you been telling your friends about us?" Klaus asked with a smile, "you did tell them that you and I were lovers and that you enjoyed every single moment of it, didn't you?"

"I didn't enjoy anything!" Bonnie screamed at him.

"Oh Bonnie, how can you say that…we were planning on creating a family…"

"Shut up Klaus…not another word", Damon ordered.

"Bonnie, tell him…you wanted me…you wanted to be with me, you told me that every chance you got", Klaus smiled at her.

"Shut up!" Bonnie screamed.

"Do you not want him to know? Or is it, you don't want the others to know how you came to my bed at night and how you did all kinds of pleasurable things to me?" Klaus went on.

Bonnie started to charge Klaus, but Damon grabbed her and flung her back towards the wall sending her crashing to the floor. He hated to do that, but he needed to make sure that this worked.

"That will be the last thing you say", Damon said as he began walking over to Klaus with the dagger in his hand.

"Oh you think that you are going to kill me, so you're willing to sacrifice yourself to save the witch…I will let you know a little secret, she is just that good in bed…so I can understand it, witches can do the most amazing things", Klaus shrugged.

Damon raised his arm, "You are going to burn in hell".

"Bonnie…I will see you again, Precious", Klaus said turning to run out of the door but ran right into Elena who stabbed him in the chest with the dagger. Klaus immediately backed up as blood dripped from his mouth and he turned to Damon and Bonnie. He reached out for Bonnie and then he collapsed onto the floor as a shriveled corpse as the dagger went completely through his body.

Elena started over to Bonnie, but Damon reached her first as Bonnie stared at Klaus' body on the floor, "Bonnie, it's ok", Damon replied calmly.

"I didn't want him…I…I didn't…he was lying…I didn't want him…I didn't…", she repeated over and over again as the tears fell from her eyes.

"I know you didn't, it's ok", Damon said softly.

"I never wanted him…I never did", Bonnie continued to repeat as Damon tried to get her to calm down.

Elena watched the scene frozen in place. Damon was focusing completely on Bonnie trying to get her to stop repeating the same words over and over again as he also tried to coax her to drink his blood to stop the bleeding. He was speaking quietly and softly to her as if they were the only two people in the room and it was weird for her.

"Is everything ok?" Stefan asked rushing into the room with Caroline.

"Umm…Klaus is dead…he didn't…uh…hurt Bonnie", Elena mumbled as she watched Damon and Bonnie.

Stefan and Caroline looked down at Klaus body and then at Damon, who was lifting Bonnie up off the floor. If the situation wasn't so dire at the moment—someone may have commented on the scene between the two of them.

"Take Bonnie home, we will clean up here", Stefan replied as Damon stood in front of him, "it's a mess down stairs, we will burn the house".

"Don't leave Klaus' body here…take him somewhere else", Damon replied.

Stefan nodded as Damon carried Bonnie out of the room.

SSSSSS

Damon watched out of the corner of his eye the entire time that he drove back to Mystic Falls. He started to ask her if she wanted to go home, but he knew that her father would probably have a million questions for her, so he took her to the boarding house instead. When they walked inside she paused in the doorway.

"Bonnie, come in", Damon said looking at her.

"Why would he say that?" she whispered as she stepped inside.

"Bonnie…don't worry about what Klaus said, he was a psycho".

"I didn't want him…I _never_ wanted him…I never wanted him to do those things to me…never", she replied.

Damon walked over to her and touched her chin, "I know that, you know that…Klaus wanted to terrorize you up until the very last moment…he knew that he was losing".

Bonnie nodded, "I just want to get out of these clothes…is there…"

"Elena went to your house and got some of your clothes…I will get them for you, you can use my bathroom", Damon replied.

Bonnie nodded as she walked past Damon, but not before taking his hand and looking up at him, "Thank you", she whispered as she headed up the stairs.

As soon as he heard the shower start in his bathroom, he headed to the guest room where Elena had dropped off Bonnie's bag. He paused as he picked up the bag as the vision of being in that room with Klaus came back to him. The entire time they traveled to the house, he was on the cusp of ripping someone's head off. He wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but he was afraid…afraid of what they would possibly find when they reached Bonnie. When he walked into that room and saw Klaus pinning Bonnie against the wall, it took everything within him not to stake him…not to snatch the dagger from Elena who was slowly making her way into the room and stake Klaus himself. Then after Klaus taunted Bonnie with his words, he just about lost it. He wasn't sure when he developed any type of feelings for Bonnie, but coming into that room…she was all that he could focus on and she was all that mattered at that point. It made him feel weird…he wasn't sure what exactly he could do with whatever was going on, but he sure as hell had no intention on confessing anything to anyone.

SSSSSS

Bonnie stood under the spray of the shower and closed her eyes. The scene in the bedroom kept playing over and over in her head, not the moment when Elena staked Klaus—but the moment when Klaus repeated over and over that she wanted him. She never wanted him, she was sure of that with every fiber of her being. She never wanted his hands on her…his lips on her…any part of his body on her. It made her sick to her stomach to even think about what she endured. Bonnie felt the tears sting her eyes as she sunk down to the floor in the shower and allowed every single part of her fear, her despair and her anger flow down the drain with the water.

SSSSSS

Bonnie finished changing into some sweats and stood in the middle of Damon's bedroom. She didn't hear Elena or anyone else, so that meant they were still cleaning up whatever they had to at the house. She looked in the mirror and noticed that her scar was staring right back at her. She touched it lightly and then she heard Damon clear his voice behind her.

"I was just coming up to make sure that you were ok", he replied clearing his throat.

She turned to him, "I'm alive".

"I know that, but are you ok?" he pressed walking into the room.

"I don't think I will be ok for a very long time", Bonnie said sitting down on the bed.

"He didn't…", Damon began but trailed off.

"No, he didn't…he was about to, there's a spell…a spell to make any supernatural being human for 24 hours, that was part of his plan for us to create a child".

Damon paused for a moment. A spell that could make him human for 24 hours, that was interesting, "Well Klaus is gone, so you don't have to worry about him anymore", Damon replied.

Bonnie nodded as she looked around the room, "I don't want to keep you from your room, so I can just go to one of the others or…"

"No, you can stay here…it's no problem, I don't sleep much", Damon stated.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes", Damon said.

Bonnie nodded as she moved to the top of the bed, "I'm sorry, I didn't sleep much over the past day or so".

"It's fine", Damon stated as Bonnie nodded and placed her head on his pillow.

He watched as her eyes slowly closed and he moved closer to her as he heard her breathing even out and he could tell that she was asleep. He reached out slowly with a shaky hand and moved her hair out of her face gently and took a deep breath.

SSSSS

Damon sat in the chair by his bed reading a book, when he heard the front door of the boarding house open and close. He stood up took a look at Bonnie, who was sleeping soundly, and headed out of the room closing the door behind him. When he met Stefan, Elena and Caroline in the living room they all looked exhausted.

"Is Bonnie ok?" Elena asked.

"She's sleeping…and in her words, she's alive and I think that's all that she can say right now".

"Well we set the mansion on fire…the vampires and Amelia's bodies were still inside", Stefan replied, "and Klaus, we buried him…he won't be found for a long time by anyone".

"Hopefully not ever", Caroline replied, "I can't believe what he did to Bonnie and what he wanted to do and that witch…how could she be ok with helping?"

"Everyone's not like us Care", Elena replied.

"I need some blood", Stefan said standing up, "Caroline?"

"Yes, we did work up an appetite…Damon?"

"I already ate", Damon replied as he poured a sniffer of brandy as Stefan and Caroline left the room.

Elena walked over to Damon, "Was anything that Klaus said true?"

"What part?" Damon asked taking a gulp of his drink.

"About him and Bonnie…being lovers?"

"What do you think?"

"I think he was telling the truth, at least about that…but I know that Bonnie would never want that to happen, so he must have forced her to…"

"Elena…"

"Damon, Bonnie has been barely existing since she came back and I always knew that there was something that she was holding back about…but you knew, you knew what she was hiding, didn't you?"

"Look, all that matters now is that Bonnie starts to put the entire Klaus thing behind her".

"With your help?" Elena asked.

"If that's what she wants".

"Damon, Bonnie is fragile right now…please don't hurt her".

Damon turned to Elena and narrowed his eyes, "Why would I hurt her after I did everything that I could to get her back safely?"

"I know that you may mean well but I also know that you were hurt after what happened between us and I don't want you to use Bonnie as a replacement", Elena whispered.

Damon chuckled, "I can assure you Elena that Bonnie will not be a replacement for anything or anyone", he replied as he downed his drink and left the living room.

Damon walked out into the hallway and snatched his jacket off of the hook.

"Damon, where are you going?" Stefan asked walking into the foyer.

"Out", Damon snapped as he slammed the door behind him.

SSSSS

"Klaus!" Bonnie shouted as she sat up in bed and looked around. She was still in Damon's room and the room was empty, except for Caroline sitting in a chair staring back at her.

"Bonnie…are you ok?" Caroline asked moving quickly to her side.

"I'm fine…just a nightmare", Bonnie rubbed her temples, "where's Damon?"

Caroline frowned. While she was grateful that Damon came up with a plan to find Bonnie, she still didn't like the fact that Bonnie had become close to him. Damon could not be trusted, "He stormed out of the mansion hours ago".

"Why did he storm out, did something happen?"

"I don't know, I think he and Elena had a fight or something, probably another argument about him leaving her alone to be with Stefan…who knows…don't worry about that".

Bonnie nodded.

"Bonnie, I'm sorry about what Klaus did to you and I know that you don't want to talk about it now, but when you do…I'm here for you", Caroline hugged her.

"Thank you", Bonnie whispered as she lay back down.

"I will be right here, if you need me…just sitting in this chair…", Caroline smiled as Bonnie closed her eyes.

"Thank you Care", Bonnie whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

Caroline watched as her friend went back into a deep sleep and she felt the tears well up in her own eyes. Even with all of these super vampire powers she felt helpless. Her friend had been kidnapped twice, terrorized by a psycho and had been broken into a million pieces and she felt as if she couldn't help at all. It was frustrating and she hated it.

"You can go now", Damon said standing in the doorway of his room.

"I'm fine right here", Caroline replied.

"That wasn't a request".

"I told Bonnie that I will be right here for her and I am not leaving her".

"Caroline, go downstairs…you can stay at the boarding house, but you are not staying in my room and if I have to throw you out of my room, I will", Damon replied in an even voice.

Caroline looked over at Bonnie sleeping in the bed. She really did not want to have an all out war with Damon in this room at the moment, "Fine, I will be downstairs…if she wakes up, let her know that I did not leave her".

"Yeah, yeah, yeah", Damon rolled his eye as Caroline walked out of the room.

Damon closed the door behind her and then sat down in the chair that she vacated. He stared at Bonnie sleeping on her side and she looked peaceful. The look on Bonnie's face as she slept was enough to make him forget his anger at Elena and just focus on the fact that he had saved the witch…just as he promised her he would.

**Things are changing for Bamon. Klaus is gone and now it's time for healing. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for the reviews and comments. Thank you to the new readers as well, I appreciate your support and comments! Now, onto the next chapter…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

Bonnie opened her eyes and the sun was drifting into the room. It took her a few moments to focus and realize that she was in Damon's bedroom and that she was finally safe. She turned over and looked at Damon who was sleeping in the chair where Caroline had been the previous night.

"Did you kick her out?" Bonnie asked quietly.

Damon opened his eyes, "It's my room".

"You would use that excuse", Bonnie chuckled.

Damon shrugged, "Hey…it's the truth, so how do you feel?"

It was Bonnie's turn to shrug, "Can I get away with the answer…I don't know?"

"I think that's acceptable. I want you to know that I wanted to let you kill Klaus last night. _I_ wanted to kill Klaus last night, but I knew that we had to follow the plan if everything was going to work out".

"So you threw me up against a wall to stop it?"

"I'm sorry".

Bonnie smiled for a few moments and then her face melted, "Ever since last night, I've been going over and over in my head why Klaus would say those things about how I wanted him and how I enjoyed it…"

"Bonnie, he was just talking. He was trying to hurt you, it was a mind game", Damon cut her off.

She sat up, "Was it? I don't know what the other part of me did".

"She stuck that dagger in him, she hated him…anything that she did was to protect you. I am pretty sure that she never wanted Klaus. He forced himself on you, you didn't want that and you didn't deserve it".

Bonnie nodded as she wiped her eyes, "Is it true about Lucy, did he really kill her?" she asked looking at Damon.

Damon nodded slowly and Bonnie shook her head as the tears fell from her eyes, "I never wanted anyone to get hurt, I didn't want that to happen…I hate him so much…I hate him!" she cried.

"I know you do, but he's gone and he's never going to hurt you or anyone else that you care about again", Damon said as he stood up and walked over to the bed.

"He's already done his damage…he knew that….he's always known that since that night that he came into my room….since he made sure I kept this scar…he knew that he had ruined me", Bonnie wiped her eyes as the tears began to flow.

Damon sat down on the bed and touched Bonnie's cheeks, "Hey…he did not ruin you".

Bonnie shook her head as Damon crawled up next to her in the bed and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him as she continued to cry. After a few moment, Bonnie wiped her eyes and moved away from Damon, "I'm sick of crying and most of all…I'm sick of crying on your shoulder", she replied wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"What…my shoulder isn't good enough?" Damon smirked.

"That's not it", she shook her head, "I just feel like…I feel like I'm broken".

"Perhaps you are", Damon replied.

She looked up at him, "But now that Klaus is gone, you can start to put yourself back together", he continued.

"But is he really gone? Yes, he has the dagger inside of him but what if someone finds him and removes the dagger…"

"No one will find him, I have faith that Stefan and Caroline made sure that he will never be found again".

"I know that there was no real way to kill him, but I wish there were…I wish there was a way for me to make him really suffer…it's a feeling that I never felt before, not even when I hated you".

"Wow…thanks?" Damon replied.

"I don't mean it like that, what I mean is…ok…wait…let me say this right…", she said looking at Damon trying her best not to offend him, because after all he had done for her, she didn't want to hurt his feelings (if he had any…), "I did not like you, I tried to kill you…I thought about killing you a couple of times…"

"This is fun", Damon smirked.

"But no matter how many times, I never thought that I could actually go through with it…"

"You tried pretty damn hard at that carnival".

"But I stopped. When I think about Klaus, I know exactly what I would do to him and how I would do it…when he kidnapped me a couple of days ago, I had time and I spent that time thinking about if I ever got the chance what I would do to him and it scared me. I think I tapped into my other side with the dark things that I came up with".

"Well its understandable…Klaus, did some pretty bad things to you and he killed your cousin…"

"I know that, but when did I turn into this person who thinks about revenge and thinks about destroying someone's life…I was never that type of person, Damon".

"But didn't you say that you changed when Klaus…"

Bonnie held up her hand. As many times as she thought about what Klaus did and flashed back to that night, she could never say the word. She could never say the R word—just thinking about it made her sick.

"Ok you may have changed Bonnie, but things can get better".

Bonnie looked at Damon and raised an eyebrow, "This is scary".

"What is scary?"

"The fact that I can talk to you about this and everything else and it doesn't feel weird".

"Well you want to know what's even weirder?" Damon asked looking down at her.

"What?"

"The fact that I _want_ to sit here and actually talk to you, that's weird for me".

"Well if nothing else after all of this, we have become friends...?" Bonnie trailed off.

"Yes we have", he answered.

SSSSSS

Damon walked into the kitchen as Stefan heated up a cup of blood, as soon as Stefan removed the cup from the microwave Damon removed it and smiled drinking it. "That was mine", Stefan replied.

"I haven't had anything to eat today, I'm practically wasting away", Damon sighed.

"Right…so how's Bonnie?" Stefan asked.

"She's as best as can be expected".

"So can we talk about last night and what Klaus said. We all heard him".

"And what do you want to know?"

"I want to know, was he lying about them being lovers?" Stefan whispered.

"I would not describe it that way at all, I would describe it as some sick, psychotic vampire taking advantage of a young, inexperienced witch and forcing himself on her".

Stefan closed his eyes and leaned against the counter, "I kind of figured that's exactly what happened but I didn't want to believe it".

Damon nodded as he sipped his blood.

"And you knew…I mean…you knew before Klaus said it last night".

"When we found Klaus that day at the house, after she pulled the dagger out of him—he said it. He said that he was her first and at the time, I thought he meant her first vampire—I had no idea that it was so much more than that. She begged me to keep it a secret…"

"And you did", Stefan replied.

"I did".

Stefan was quiet for a few moments and then he spoke again, "Damon, can you answer me honestly here?"

"What Stefan?"

"Do you feel _anything_ more for Bonnie than just friendship?"

Damon closed his eyes and sighed, "Why Stefan?"

"Because I saw the way you acted when Klaus kidnapped her a couple of days ago. You were angry and you determined. You cared a lot and the plan you came up with, it was all about keeping Bonnie safe…"

"I wanted to save the witch, what's the big deal?" Damon replied walking away.

"I saw you when you carried her out of that room, that was not just about saving _the witch_", Stefan stated.

"So what do you want me to say?" Damon asked, "because if you're waiting for me to declare my love for Bonnie or something, it's not going to happen".

"I know that…I didn't say that you were in love with her, I would say that you feel something for her and it manifesting itself now as a need to save her and make sure she's safe".

"Oh really Dr. Stefan, so what comes after that?"

"I don't know, but I think you need to back off a little", Stefan replied.

"What do you mean back off…I'm not doing anything?"

"I know that…I know that you only want to do what's best for her. I know that you want to protect her, but Damon…Bonnie's been through hell and she's fragile and I don't want her to get hurt when you decide that you're done being the protector or whatever this is that you feel for her wears off".

"Seriously?" Damon rolled his eyes, "are you warning me away from Bonnie? Did Elena put you up to this?"

"No…"

"Then why are you even bringing this up to me?" Damon asked feeling his anger creep up, "have I done one thing with Bonnie that could be construed as hurting her?"

"No, but Damon…I know you".

"Obviously you don't, if you believe that after everything I've done to protect Bonnie that I would hurt her", Damon said slamming down his cup and leaving the kitchen.

SSSSS

Bonnie, Elena and Caroline sat in the study at the boarding house and Bonnie watched them watch her every move. "How long are we going to sit in silence?" Bonnie asked looking at them.

"I don't know what to say", Caroline frowned, "I don't want to make you cry".

"Funny thing is, I don't think my tear ducts work anymore", Bonnie chuckled humorlessly.

Elena walked over and sat on the couch next to Bonnie and Caroline joined her on the other side. "Your Dad is home, he believes that you went on a school trip. As long as you need to stay here or if you want to stay at my house, you can", Elena began.

"Or you can come to my house", Caroline offered.

"Thanks ".

"Bonnie, we just want you to know that we are here for you. We love you and we don't want you to think that we see you any differently then we did before", Elena spoke up.

"That's good because I'm a different Bonnie now and don't think that I am the Bonnie that will go around being mean and setting people on fire…I don't mean different in that way, I just mean that I am not the same person that I was before Klaus pulled me through that window".

"We know, we know", Caroline rushed to assure her.

"But I also know that you heard what he said".

"But we know that he was lying Bonnie", Elena shook her head, "and that he was sick…psychotic".

"He was", Bonnie nodded, "you know, he was definitely trying to give me one last dig or one last harmful reminder of him…"

"He was horrible, I am glad that he's dead", Caroline fumed.

"Bonnie, do you want to talk about what he did?" Elena asked quietly.

"You don't have to talk about it Bonnie, you don't", Caroline replied widening her eyes at Elena.

"It's ok, I'm going to talk to you guys about it…I mean, we talked about what we wanted our first times to be like and who we thought they would be with…", Bonnie began as she touched her scar, "I always said that I didn't know who it would be with, but I knew that it would be with a guy that I loved and loved me back…that we would have candles all around and that it would be nice and gentle and sweet..."

Bonnie watched as Caroline and Elena's eyes filled with tears and it was only then, that her eyes filled with them as well, "Who knew that my dream would be shattered one night during a thunderstorm when Klaus came into my room and decided that he wanted to make the nightmarish life that he had sentenced me to worse. No matter what happens, I will never be able to get that night back…I will never be able to have what I wanted for my first time…it will always be something that I look back on and I feel sick…I feel nauseous…and I will never forget it".

Elena and Caroline each took one of Bonnie's hands as they put their heads on her shoulder.

Damon stood outside of the study looking inside through a crack in the door. The three women could not see him, but he heard every word of what Bonnie said. He fought the impulse to say something, but instead just walked away silently.

SSSSS

Hours later, Damon sat in his bed flipping through a book when Bonnie entered the room. "Hi, I thought that I would just come and get my bag…maybe move to a guest room", she mumbled walking over to her duffel bag.

"Maybe you should go home", Damon replied refusing to look up from his book.

Bonnie froze as she picked up her bag, "I guess I can do that…", she replied turning to him.

"I think maybe that will be best, Klaus is gone…he's not coming back and I know that you want things to get back to normal".

Bonnie stood for a few moments, trying to feel if the lump in her throat was due to her fear or the fact that it appeared that Damon was casting her away or pushing her away, rather.

"I guess I do and going home is probably the best solution", Bonnie nodded, "I guess I will get Stefan or Elena to drive me home".

"Yup", he said turning a page in his book.

"Ok…then…", she mumbled as she turned around to leave and then turned back to him, "did I do something?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did I do something…you seem different?" Bonnie asked.

"Bonnie, I promised to keep you safe from Klaus…Klaus is gone, no one will ever find him and now you can move on with your life".

Bonnie squinted as if she was trying to understand what had changed within a number of hours, "You're right…absolutely right…I guess I should go…"

"See you around", Damon replied.

Bonnie nodded, "I…uh…I just want you to know that I am thankful for everything that you did to help me and thank you for keeping everything between us".

"No problem", Damon stated.

Bonnie nodded as she turned and walked out of the room without another word. Damon put his book down as he looked over at the empty doorway.

SSSSSS

Bonnie walked into her darkened house after Elena dropped her off. She offered to stay over, but Bonnie maintained that her dad was home and that she would be fine. However, when she walked in the house—she found a note from her father. 'Sorry Bon, thought I would be here when you got back from your trip…had to leave early for a meeting in Nova Scotia, will call you tomorrow…Love You, Daddy'. Bonnie dropped the note down on the table and sat down on the couch. She looked around her empty house and drew her knees to her chest. She flicked her finger up and the television came on. She knew that coming to terms with being alone would take some time and while that time passed her by, she would not spend it sleeping…whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Klaus and it was as if she was still in that house with him.

**Other Bonnie makes some appearances in the next chapter and she brings some enlightenment with her. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you all for your continued support and a surprising nomination for the VD Fanfiction Awards. I appreciate it so much. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"Miss Bennett…would you like to answer the question now?" Mr. Fields asked in the front of the class.

Elena glanced over and noticed that Bonnie's head was on her desk and she appeared to be asleep, "Umm…Mr. Fields, I have the answer to the question", Elena spoke up.

"I don't want you to answer…", Mr. Fields began but was interrupted by the bell and Bonnie popped up looking around.

"Bon…", Elena whispered.

"Miss Bennett, I would like for you to stay after class…we need to have a conversation".

Bonnie looked at Elena who gave her a supportive smile and gathered her books, "I will be outside".

Bonnie nodded as she gathered her books and walked up to the front of the class, "Now, Miss Bennett…I understand that you spent some time studying abroad, but you are back in Mystic Falls now and I don't know what you did in those other countries—but this school has a zero tolerance policy on drugs", Mr. Fields replied cleaning his glasses and looking at her.

Bonnie's eyes went wide, "I'm not on drugs".

"Well is there a reason why you are sleeping in my class in the middle of the day".

"I haven't been sleeping well since getting back from my trip, but I promise it will never happen again".

"It better not Miss Bennett or I will have to meet with your father".

Bonnie nodded as she headed towards the door of the classroom and met Elena in the hallway.

"He thinks I'm on drugs", Bonnie sighed as she headed towards her locker.

"He can't be serious?"

"Why Elena, have you taken a look at me lately?" Bonnie looked in her locker mirror. Her eyes had bags under them, the scar was still shining prominently and she felt as if she was running on fumes.

"You are just going through a rough time…I mean, there could be a million reasons why you are falling asleep".

"Oh sure because I haven't been sleeping because every time I close my eyes I see a psychotic vampire coming at me…yes, I'm sure if I told Mr. Fields _that_ he would drop the drug theory".

"You really should come stay at my house".

"I can't do that, not with Jeremy there…it would be weird", Bonnie said putting her books in her locker.

"Well what about Caroline's?"

"Caroline has enough problems with her mother, I can't add to them".

"I don't like you being alone in your house…when is your dad coming back?"

"He says not for a couple of weeks. Elena, even if someone came to stay with me—that wouldn't make me sleep…I just don't feel safe", Bonnie shrugged.

"But you felt safe at the boarding house", Elena spoke up.

Bonnie turned to Elena. Ever since she left the boarding house, she had not heard anything from Damon. It was as if he had dropped off the planet and their friendship had dissolved, "I couldn't stay at the boarding house forever".

"I know, but Bonnie…I don't know how to help you and I want to help you".

"I don't think that there's anything that anyone can do, I just need some time to deal with what happened and I'm dealing with it", Bonnie shrugged.

"Did you ever thing you should talk to someone about what happened?" Elena whispered.

"You mean go to a shrink and tell them that a vampire kidnapped me and did horrible things to me…I think they would have me on medication within five minutes".

"You don't have to tell them the vampire part".

"I don't want to see a shrink".

"Ok…I just…well if you need anything and I do mean anything, please let me know", Elena grabbed her hand.

"I know…I know and thank you", Bonnie said hugging her and heading out of the school towards her car. When she turned the corner, she noticed that Stefan was standing by her car. She took a deep breath. It wasn't as if she was trying to avoid him, she just didn't want to talk to him about what happened with Klaus. She understood his need to apologize a million times, but it was a little embarrassing to speak about what happened with a guy…especially her best friend's boyfriend.

"Hi", she smiled opening up her car doors.

"Hey, I wanted to know if we could talk for a few moments".

"Stefan, we don't have to".

"Please", he replied.

Bonnie nodded as she slid into the driver seat of her car and Stefan slid into the passenger side, "Bonnie, I know that you don't want to talk about anything that happened with Klaus, but I want you to know that I have thought about what happened that night ever since it happened and it has haunted me…I can't tell you how many times I searched for you..."

Bonnie looked at Stefan, "I know you did".

"And it wasn't just because of the fact that you tried to help with Damon, it's because you are important to all of us…you are important to me as a friend".

"Thank you", Bonnie smiled.

"And if there is anything that I can ever do to make everything up to you, just let me know".

"You can stop feeling guilty", Bonnie looked over at him.

"I don't think I can do that any time soon", Stefan smirked looking at her.

"Yes…you can", Bonnie smiled at him, "because I'm going to concentrate on being ok".

Stefan nodded and returned her smile.

SSSSSS

Damon stood in front of Bonnie's house in the dead of the night staring at the glow from the television in the living room. After spending a couple of days on a road trip, he found himself back here. After Bonnie left the boarding house and everything ended with Klaus; he just needed some time away from everyone. If he stayed at the boarding house with Stefan and Elena warning him away from Bonnie, he would kill one of them and the fact that he was starting to have conflicting feelings for the witch was just about suffocating him.

During his road trip, he found a beautiful blond in a bar. Her name was Tamra. She was into him, he was into her, but as soon as they entered her apartment and he went to compel her to forget everything, he stopped. Bonnie's words came back hitting him like a MACK truck. ..

"_You know, you're just like him…you think just because you're stronger and that you can control people that people are just your puppets…well they're not…"_

The witch had gotten into his head and he hated it. He wasn't the type of vampire that moped and was conflicted over his nature. He was a vampire…he could compel…if it was wrong, why did he have the power to do it? It was all Bonnie's fault. Her situation with Klaus made _him_ feel guilty and he didn't do anything to her. She was invading his thoughts and he wanted to forget…he wanted to ignore, but he couldn't. He wasn't attracted to her. Surely, not like he was attracted to Elena and Katherine—he couldn't be attracted to the witch. There was no way. He barely noticed her before…well…that wasn't true; he found her to be annoying before. But the question begged at the moment, why is it just got back to Mystic Falls and he ended up in front of her house.

"Damon?" Bonnie's voice broke into his thoughts.

He shook his head and noticed her standing on the porch dressed in her nightclothes, "What are you doing here…its two in the morning", she asked walking down the stairs and up to him.

"I…I just got back into town and I…I wanted to make sure that your house was still standing and all", he shrugged.

"Yes, well my neighbor across the street…Mrs. Fields…", Bonnie motioned towards a house on the other side of the street. Damon turned to see the curtains sway briefly, "yes, Mrs. Fields is the unofficial neighborhood watch and she wanted to let me know that a weird older man was standing in front of my house".

"What does she mean about me being older?" Damon asked, "I don't look that much older than you".

Bonnie smirked, "So I guess the weird part doesn't bother you?"

"She's stalking people through her window at two in the morning, I am skeptical of her definition of weird".

Bonnie shook her head, "Do you want to come in or were you on your way home?"

"Your father, is he home?"

"No…he's in Nova Scotia", Bonnie replied.

"And how long has he been there?"

Bonnie shrugged, "Since I came back from the boarding house".

Damon blinked and reached out to grab her arm, "Wait you've been alone since you left the boarding house?"

"Yes".

"Why didn't you come back!"

"Because I can be alone Damon".

"I'm coming in", he replied.

"You really don't have to".

"I know, but I am".

"Fine, I'm sure Mrs. Fields will have a full report for my father about this one", she sighed as she headed towards the door.

"Then he should be here", Damon followed.

When Bonnie closed the door, she locked it and turned to Damon, "Damon, you don't have to stay here with me".

"Why would you want to be alone after everything you went through?"

"Because I won't have someone with me 24/7 for the rest of my life and you are the one who said that it would be best for me to get back to normal".

"Who cares what I said and why would your father leave you?"

"Because he works and he doesn't know what happened…it's ok, it really is".

"Then why are you wide awake at two in the morning?"

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"Because I can't sleep ok, but it has nothing to do with me being alone".

"Ok…well, it's a good thing that I'm here to keep you company", Damon plopped down on the couch and picked up the remote.

"Wait…where have you been?" Bonnie asked sitting next to him.

"Here and there", Damon shrugged.

"Is there a reason why you left?"

"I just needed to get out of Mystic Falls for awhile…you know…before Stefan or Elena had a very bad accident".

"Did something happen that I don't know about…did you and Elena…", Bonnie trailed off.

"Did I and Elena do what?" Damon asked looking at her.

"I mean, I know that things are tense at times for you all…so when you took off, I just assumed that something happened between the three of you".

"Something did happen, but not what you think".

"What…what do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

"Stefan and Elena found it best to warn me not to hurt you".

"Hurt me…why would they think you would hurt me. Granted, before I came back—it would have made sense, but now…?"

"Now, they think that I am attracted to you and in the end, I would hurt you".

"What!" Bonnie exclaimed, "that is crazy for many reasons…1) you have done nothing but help me since I got back and as crazy as that sounds, its true and 2) you are in love with Elena…you have been in love with her for a long time, I doubt that you would ever feel anything for me but friendship".

Damon paused and then spoke, "That's true".

"I know, I can't believe they would say anything like that to you…I'm sorry…maybe I should speak to them…"

"Bonnie, as lovely as it is to see how much our relationship has grown", Damon smirked, "I can fight my own battles".

"So is that why you asked me to leave the boarding house?"

"Not exactly, but it was a part of it".

"You should have told me. I thought that I did something wrong or that because Klaus was gone that whatever friendship we had would go away".

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Oh you care about our friendship?"

Bonnie folded her arms, "In a begrudgingly way".

"Always so difficult", Damon chuckled.

"That's what you like best about me", Bonnie winked.

"Very true", Damon answered.

SSSSS

After Bonnie convinced him that there was no reason for him to stay with her during the night, Damon took off for the boarding house. After his trip and after speaking with Bonnie, he felt less of an urge to rip Stefan or Elena apart if they accused of him wanting to hurt Bonnie again. What Bonnie said was right; he felt nothing for her but friendship and maybe some gratitude, but that was it. It did not translate into anything romantic and it never would, if he could control it.

When he walked into the boarding house, he found Stefan and Elena asleep on the couch. They must have been taking turns reading a book—they were such lames, Damon chuckled to himself as began heading upstairs.

"Damon…", Stefan's voice called to him as soon as he put his foot on one of the landings.

"Stefan, it is so nice to see you", Damon grinned as Stefan joined him in the foyer.

"Where have you been?"

"Around".

"Well is there a reason why you took off out of the blue?"

"Stefan, is there a reason for this conversation?" Damon countered.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended you a couple of days ago when I spoke to you about Bonnie…"

"Wait…is this an apology coming, let me get in a good standing position for this…", Damon smirked as he leaned against the railing.

Stefan rolled his eyes, "Ok, I just want you to know that I was rushing to conclusions. You did a lot to save Bonnie and I understand that it was more about you repaying a debt to her than anything else".

"Oh really?"

"Yes, I know that even you can see that Bonnie is at a place right now when all she needs is _friends_".

"Well thank you Stefan, that warms my heart…now, I haven't been home in days and I would like to catch up on some sleep in my own bed, so thank you and good night", Damon replied heading up the stairs.

When he reached his room, he threw his bag down on the floor and looked around. Home Sweet Home…yeah right, he thought. Damon stripped off his shirt and started for his belt buckle, when he heard someone whistle.

He turned all around looking for the voice and then his eyes landed on the mirror, where Bonnie stood, "What the hell…what are you doing here?" he backed up.

"I thought that we would have a little visit, how are you Damon?" she purred.

"How are you here…what is going on?"

"Bonnie won't let me out to play anymore", she pouted.

"What a shame, but what are you doing here…spying on me…in my bedroom?"

"Because I can only appear to people who really want to see me or _really_ want to see Bonnie, in your case", she smiled.

"I have no idea what you are talking about", Damon scoffed.

"I see how you are running around telling everyone that you have no feelings for us, but the truth is…you do".

"You really have no idea what you are talking about and I would appreciate if you would leave".

"Aww, you don't want to give me a show?"

"You know…", Damon replied walking up to the mirror, "I _really___don't like you".

The image of Bonnie laughed, "Why because I make you uncomfortable".

"No because you are like an abomination and most importantly, you are not Bonnie".

"I am her…just a different part of her".

"Well, I can assure you…I like the other part of you better".

"Ahh, you admit it".

"Shut up", Damon replied walking away from the mirror.

"Oh did I hit a nerve. You know Damon, I think you are perfect for us…you will help the other part of me move on and cope with what happened to her and you will me satisfy all those little fantasies that I have", she licked her lips.

Damon shook his head, "I'm going to leave this room and I hope you're gone by the time I come back or I am going to start breaking mirrors".

The Other Bonnie began to laugh as she disappeared. Damon shook his head and hesitating before removing his pants. That Bonnie was definitely NOT the one he was used to…and besides all of that, she was wrong.

SSSSS

"Bonnie, you have to come to the Harvest Dance", Caroline whined as she threw dress after dress out of Bonnie's closet.

"I really don't want to do that, I rather just sit at home and read some spell books or something".

"Bonnie, you need to do more than just sit in this house and read those books. We won, you are safe and you are on the road to being happy—now it's time to embrace the good and do away with the bad", Caroline grinned sitting down next to her, "am I right, Elena?"

"She is right…Bon, come on…we will have fun".

"I don't know, what if no one wants to dance with me…I do still have the scar", Bonnie pointed.

"Are you kidding me, we are still the three hottest girls in school…guys will be dying to dance with you", Caroline smiled, "come on, let's go and you can wear this dress".

Bonnie looked over at the brown and orange dress that Caroline had pulled out of the closet. She hadn't done anything really fun since she got back, so maybe this was the outing that she needed, "Ok…sure…I will go".

"Yea!" Caroline clapped, "and I will do your make up!"

"Don't make me look like a hooker or a clown", Bonnie warned.

"I won't", Caroline promised.

SSSSSS

"Where are you going?" Damon asked as Stefan headed downstairs and grabbed his keys off of the table.

"Harvest Dance at the high school, want to come?" Stefan smirked.

"No…I don't want to come, they won't have any alcohol…not really a fun dance at all".

Stefan chuckled, "Well, I'm meeting Elena, Caroline and Bonnie there…"

"Bonnie's going?"

"Yes, it's a dance at her school, why wouldn't she be?"

"Well because there may be a bunch of horny guys there just wanting to find a girl to get laid with".

"Oook", Stefan replied.

"And one of them may not understand that he's dealing with a traumatized witch who may just set him on fire with the wrong move".

"Damon, I've seen Bonnie…she's much better, I doubt that she's into setting people on fire anymore…well, maybe you".

"But you never know, a dance is a variable in the situation".

Stefan looked at Damon as if he was nuts, "Damon, I'm going to go. Please don't show up".

"Me show up to a high school dance…I wouldn't dream of it", Damon scoffed as Stefan headed out of the door.

SSSSSS

When Bonnie entered the gym, it felt like she was officially back. Students were dancing around, laughing and singing along to the music. She couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Ladies…didn't think that you would show up for a couple of minutes there", Matt eased over.

"Well we had to get Bonnie ready and of course, she said she didn't want to come at least 4 times", Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Well Bonnie, I'm glad that you did and you look pretty", Matt smiled gently.

"Thanks and did Caroline put you up to that?"

"No!" Caroline squealed.

"You know…you ladies need some of the secret punch that some of the football guys made, it's the only way to liven up this dance", Matt suggested.

"And where is this punch?" Caroline asked.

"Follow me", Matt smiled as he led the crew out of the gym.

Bonnie hesitated for a few moments, "Come on Bon, this may make things a little easier", Elena wrapped her arm around her waist.

"This is like a bad afterschool special", Bonnie smirked, "but maybe you are right", she followed Matt with Elena walking by her side.

When the gang entered the small room on the side of the gymnasium, Bonnie realized that this was where the real party was. This party was mostly populated with the football players, cheerleaders and other people that had been deemed 'cool'.

"Bonnie…hey…you decided to come", Tyler came over hugging her, "it's good that you are back and you look great".

"Thank you, Elena and Caroline decided that they had no interest in me sitting at home sulking anymore".

"Well that's good, we missed you in this little group and to celebrate your official return…here", Tyler smiled handing her a cup of red punch.

"Why thank you", she took the cup from him and sipped. As soon as she sipped the drink and tasted the alcohol, she felt a jolt…

"_How does the wine taste?" Klaus asked sitting across from Bonnie. _

"_You do understand that I am under 21…"_

"_Oh but Bonnie, you are so much older than that emotionally…you have an old soul", he stood up and walked over to her. He picked up a lilac rose as he walked towards her from the vase on the table. He caressed her neck with the top and then pulled her out of her chair and touched her chin so that she could match his gaze. _

"_Do I?"_

"_Yes…", he whispered as he placed his hand on her chest, "I can feel it and I can taste it in your blood"._

"_What else can you taste in my blood?" she whispered back staring directly into his eyes._

"_Let me see", he replied, biting into her causing her to gasp as he knocked the food and drinks onto the floor lowering her onto the table. _

_As he kissed her and started to undress her, Bonnie looked over at the mirror and smiled. _

"Bonnie, you ok…Bonnie", Stefan's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Fine", she smiled sipping on her drink, "absolutely fine…I think I need to get some more of this".

Bonnie walked over to the punch bowl and shakily poured some of the punch into her cup.

SSSSSS

Damon heard Stefan's car park in the driveway. He could hear Elena giggling and tripping up the stairs as they walked up the steps. He hoped that he would either be upstairs sleeping or at least out partaking in some interesting activities by the time they came back. He placed his book down and headed into the foyer, when he ran into Elena and Stefan, who was carrying Bonnie, who was asleep.

"What the hell happened?" Damon asked narrowing his eyes and looking at the two girls. He felt like someone's father and that almost made _him_ want to vomit.

"By the time I got to the party, they detoured from the chaperoned party and ended up in another type of party".

Damon glanced over at Elena, whose eyes were glazed over and she was hiding giggles behind her hand. He could admit, he had never seen her so carefree.

"What's going on there?" Damon asked gesturing towards Bonnie in Stefan's arms.

"She drank a little more than everyone else", Stefan replied.

"You take care of your girlfriend and I will take care of the witch", Damon said holding out his arms.

"I can take her to the guest room".

"Take care of your girlfriend who is about to vomit on our rug and I will take care of the witch", Damon said glancing at Elena.

Stefan gave Bonnie to Damon just as Elena lurched forward and Damon sped upstairs as he heard the sound of liquid hitting the carpet, "_Your_ girlfriend…_you_ clean it up!" he called down to Stefan as he entered the guest room and closed the door with his foot.

He placed Bonnie down on the bed and stood at the foot looking at her. She was asleep and he sighed, "I leave you alone for one night and look at what happens, you get drunk…but then again, your responsible best friend downstairs is not doing much better", he kneeled down and began to remove her shoes.

"Klaus was telling the truth", Bonnie whispered with her eyes closed.

"Bonnie…what are you talking about?"

"She enjoyed it…she enjoyed being with him", Bonnie said silently before drifting off back to sleep.

Damon clenched his jaw and looked over at the mirror where the Other Bonnie appeared and smirked at him.

**Other Bonnie is not much of a protector anymore…**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you again for all of your comments and reviews! I am approaching 300 reviews and this is the first story that may reach that amount. I am grateful for you all taking the time to read. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"What is she talking about?" Damon seethed walking over to the mirror.

"I have no idea what you are talking about", the Other Bonnie said looking at her nails.

"You know exactly what she said, she said that you enjoyed sleeping with Klaus and why does she believe that?"

"Well obviously she's crazy, that's why I'm here".

"No…I don't believe that, something is going on and you know _exactly_ what it is. You are connected and you show up for a reason, so you tell me…why does she believe that?"

"Maybe she saw something that she didn't like".

"What did she see?" Damon asked.

"A moment between Klaus and I, she didn't like what she saw".

"And what happened in this moment?"

"Damon, that's personal…do you really care?" she smirked slyly, "oooh are you jealous?"

"You are sick".

"Look, she doesn't want to let me out and I want to be out…so I will do anything to get out of this limbo!"

"I thought you were her protector".

"There is nothing to protect her from anymore, unless…she needs to be protected from you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You need to disappear…I don't know what her ancestors were thinking sending you to help her, you seem to want to drive her crazy".

"Look, when I'm in control…there's no hurting…there's no whimpering…there's no crying and that's what she wants…that's what she _needs_…Bonnie will never be strong enough again to deal with her life the way it is and that's why I need to be in control".

"No", Damon said turning his back on her.

"She removed the dagger from his chest because she was compelled. After all that I did to get away from him, she awakened him…she needs me!"

"Bonnie is strong, she doesn't need you to be in control of anything".

"What if we make a deal, you help me and I help you…", Other Bonnie called to him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked looking at her.

"You want something special, I know you do".

"And what would that be?"

"Elena", she replied with a smile, "you help me…how should I say, get out of this limbo and I promise that I will help you and Elena become the couple that you were destined to be. I can be a powerful witch when the situation calls for it".

"I suggest you get used to being in that little mirror because I'm not helping you do anything and most of all, I don't want Elena".

"Oh, you don't...and who is your new obsession, it surely cannot be my other half because she wouldn't want you in a million years".

"What kind of a protector are you?" Damon asked.

"One that always gets what she wants", Other Bonnie answered back, "but if you don't help me, I will drive Bonnie completely insane and she will have no other option but to let me out".

"And you are who her ancestors sent to her?" Damon asked in disbelief.

"Miscalculation on their part…see you around", she replied before disappearing.

Damon stared in the mirror at his own reflection and then at Bonnie sleeping in the bed.

SSSSSS

When Bonnie opened her eyes the next morning to the rain beating against the window, she immediately grabbed her head. Between her head pounding and her stomach twisting around, she was pretty sure that she would never drink again.

"Drink this", Damon's pale hand shot out in front of her.

"What is it?" she asked turning her nose up at the awful smell.

"A little something that gets rid of hangovers, I learned a few recipes over the years".

"Vampires don't get hangovers", Bonnie said drinking the hot liquid and immediately gagging as she spit the concoction back into the cup, "are you trying to kill me?"

"No…but looks like you tried to do that on your own last night".

"What are you talking about?" she asked placing the cup on the nightstand.

"How much did you drink last night?"

"A couple of cups of punch…it wasn't a big deal", Bonnie shrugged.

"Oh no, you were passed out and Stefan had to carry you in the house".

Bonnie looked around and then realization dawned on her, "I am in your house, aren't I?"

"Yes".

"Oh…well…it was just one night and I was trying to have some fun, my life hasn't exactly been a barrel of laughs in quite some time, I wanted to have some fun".

"Did you?" Damon asked.

"No…not really".

"Well serves you right", he snipped, "alcohol is no way to solve your problems".

Bonnie raised her eyebrow, "And just like that you morphed into my father".

"I plan to give Elena the same speech this morning; if Stefan didn't already…he spent half the night scrubbing our carpet down there".

"Why?"

"Elena got sick and he drew the shortest straw…but let's talk about you or rather, your other half".

"What are you talking about, she's gone".

"Not gone…apparently when you are incapacitated, she comes to play".

"Wait…she's been walking around?" Bonnie asked.

"No, she's contained in the mirror over there…the way she describes it, she's in limbo and she can only show up at certain times".

"I had no idea".

"But let's get something out of the way first…you said something last night before you went into your drunken stupor again".

"What?"

"You said that she enjoyed being with Klaus".

Bonnie felt as if she would be sick right then and there.

"Don't you throw up in here", Damon warned her.

"I had a memory".

"Of what?"

"Me...Her…one of us with Klaus…", Bonnie shook her head.

"Bonnie, I want you to know something…I think I've had quite a few talks with your other half, I sincerely doubt that she enjoyed doing anything with Klaus. I think it was all a means to an end for her".

"But she smiled…she didn't protest…she looked like…"

"She was just trying to get him to trust her so that she could do away with him, she didn't enjoy anything and I won't let Klaus get into your head that way…you have other things to worry about", Damon replied. He wasn't sure what the case was, but he knew that it would be best for Bonnie to never believe that any part of her enjoyed what Klaus did to her.

"The way I feel today, I may never drink again".

"Well ok…but that's not what I was referring to…your other half, she has taken to showing up in _my_ mirror".

"Why would she do that?"

"Well the first time she showed up was to help me find you, now she's not quite as helpful".

"What do you mean?"

"She wants to have control of you and she wants me to help her accomplish that goal".

"What…she can't do that, she's just something that my ancestors created…she's gone now".

"Well apparently she's gone from your mirror and has taken residence up in mine".

"But why?"

"Maybe she thinks that I would help her…she offered me Elena in exchange to help her accomplish her goal".

"She offered you Elena?"

"Yes and for your information, I turned her down and that's why I am telling you this now...you need to find a way to get rid of her".

"How can I do that, I told her to leave me alone…"

"You find a way", Damon replied, "because she wants to control you and I hate to say this, but besides the scar…she is the last physical remains of your time with Klaus and if you want to actually heal from that—she needs to go".

Bonnie turned towards the mirror, "I will feel like an idiot talking to the mirror".

"Bonnie, this is Mystic Falls…everything goes, I will give you some time", Damon replied walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Bonnie turned to the mirror and stood up off of the bed, "Appear", she replied.

She stared at her own reflection in the mirror.

"Appear", she repeated.

Her own reflection stared back at her.

"Appear damn it!" she screeched as suddenly the other part of her appeared in the mirror. Bonnie was a little taken back to see herself staring back at her. It was weird to say the least.

"Can I help you?" her reflection asked.

"No, actually you can't…I don't need you anymore and the last thing that I will do is allow you to somehow have control over my body to wreck my life".

"That is the least you can do for me. I protected you when you couldn't protect yourself!" her other part seethed, "I kept Klaus from totally harming you, I stuck him with that dagger…I helped you get away and I led Damon to you when you allowed yourself to get kidnapped again and you want to keep me in this limbo…well I don't want to be here anymore, you need me!"

"You waited so long to stake him…why?" Bonnie asked.

Her reflection looked back at her, "What do you mean?"

"You waited months to stake him…did you enjoy what went on between you and Klaus…did you like it?"

Her reflection rolled her eyes, "No I didn't like it. I did what I had to, to make sure that we would survive and only you get to reap the rewards…there is no way that I am going to let that happen".

"You have no other choice…this is _my_ life and you are not going to live it for me. I can live my life now and I don't need you at all".

"You're weak and that's why he was able to rape you…you're weak and that's why you have that scar…you're weak and that's why you need Damon to help pick you up…and you know that's the only reason why he is paying you any attention, you are a damsel in distress and he likes those".

"Shut up!" Bonnie screamed.

"What…you don't like the truth…you are weak and you are an embarrassment to the Bennett line. That is why they sent me to help because you couldn't do it yourself!"

"Shut up…I don't need you!" Bonnie yelled.

"You need me…you will _always_ need me".

Bonnie put her head down as she felt the tears threaten to fall from her eyes.

"What are you going to cry now?" the Other Bonnie teased, "well its all you do nowadays anyway, so go ahead…the more you cry, shows how weak you are and I only get stronger, you need me…face it".

Bonnie lifted her head and stared into the mirror at the reflection, "No, I really don't need you anymore…you want the power…well you're never going to get it", Bonnie said walking over to the bookcase in Damon's room and picking up a bookend.

"Bonnie…what…what are you doing?" her reflection asked as she backed up a little

"I think I'm exercising my power", Bonnie answered before throwing the bookend as she watched her reflection cover her eyes and scream as the bookend crashed into the mirror and sparks flew throughout the room as Bonnie shielded her eyes.

SSSSSS

As the sound of glass breaking reverberated throughout the house, Stefan paused and looked at Damon who was sitting on a stool in the kitchen. "What was that?" Stefan asked.

"I think we may need a new mirror in one of the guest rooms", Damon answered sipping his blood.

SSSSSS

"Sorry about your mirror", Bonnie mumbled as she sat on the edge of the bed staring at the shards of glass on the floor when Damon entered the room a couple of minutes later.

"It's ok, so is she gone?" Damon asked.

"I think she's gone for good now. She was horrible. I can't believe that she was supposed to be a protector, what kind of protector was she?"

"Well to be honest, I think she served her purpose…she just didn't like not having a purpose anymore", Damon shrugged sitting next to her on the bed, "but I guess you showed her who's boss".

Bonnie chuckled, "Something like that. She said I was weak".

"Guess she doesn't think that anymore".

"Nope, but I guess I can take some of her qualities. She wasn't afraid to say what was on her mind".

"That is very true".

"So were you tempted at all when she offered you Elena?" Bonnie asked turning to look at him.

"Not in the least".

"Why?"

"Because I honestly don't want Elena anymore, she is best suited for Stefan", Damon answered.

"You really are different", Bonnie said looking at him with a slight smile.

"So are you, you really shouldn't believe what the other part of you said…I know from experience, that you Bonnie Bennett are far from weak".

Bonnie smiled, "Thank you…I really need to get home and change out of these clothes".

"I will give you a ride home", Damon said standing up.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Stefan brought you home last night and he is still playing nursemaid to the very hung over Elena…see…you're not weak at all, she can barely get out of bed and you are destroying split personalities and all".

"Thanks Damon, you always know how to make a girl feel better while simultaneously making her worry about her insanity".

"Thanks…I think that's the best compliment you have ever paid me Bennett".

Bonnie rolled her eyes as they headed out of the boarding house.

SSSSSS

When they entered Bonnie's house, she sat her keys down and turned to Damon who was standing in the foyer. "I want to say that I appreciate you not taking my other half up on her deal, even though I know that you say you're over Elena, I know that it was a tempting offer".

"Why would I take her up on an offer to drive you crazy after all that I did and besides all of that, driving you crazy is my job", Damon smirked.

"Of course it is", Bonnie laughed.

"So do you need me to stay here…give you more home remedies or can I go…it is the weekend and I have to find a meal".

Bonnie shook her head and chuckled, "Just when I think you've changed a little too much, you prove me to me that you are the same Damon".

"Hey…that's part of my charm".

"Yes it is", Bonnie said looking at him.

"Hey…you are going to be ok, right?" Damon asked touching her arm softly.

"Mmm, hmm…I'm getting better and I promise that I will not spend my night mixing drinks from my father's liquor cabinet".

"Yes…please don't make me have to come back here and check up on you".

"So Mrs. Fields will have something else to report to my dad…no thank you", Bonnie said walking him to the door and opening it.

"Well if you need me, just call me…you know…if you need someone to drive you crazy", he replied walking out of the house and standing on the porch.

"I will remember that", Bonnie said, "and thank you Damon", she stepped outside of the house and hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck bringing him into hug.

Damon wasn't sure how to react at the witch hugging him, so he kept his arms at his side as she let him go.

"Well see you around", Bonnie said clearing her throat.

"Uh, huh around", Damon replied turning and walking down the stairs.

SSSSSS

Bonnie heard knocking on her front door as she opened one eye and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was two in the morning. Who would be knocking on her door? She headed downstairs with her eyes halfway closed and looked out of the peephole of her front door to see Damon. "What are you doing here?" she asked opening the door rubbing her eyes.

"Well I started to go back to the house, but as soon as I stepped in the door I realized that Elena was feeling better and her and Stefan…were…uh…celebrating, so while I am perfectly fine with their relationship—I have no desire to play spectator".

"I see, so you came here?" Bonnie asked, "I thought you had a date".

"She was annoying…so I fed and snuck out of her back door while she was in the bathroom".

"You are so classy", Bonnie laughed walking away from the door as Damon followed closing it behind him.

"Hey, you didn't see her…it was a rough night in the bars", Damon complained as he sat down on the couch.

"I'm sorry to hear that", Bonnie falsely sympathized.

"You act as if you don't understand my plight…a man's gotta eat", Damon argued.

"Yes, how silly of me not to understand", Bonnie sat down next to him.

"You know, that tells me that you are getting back to your old self…the judgey part of you is resurfacing".

"Oh Damon…what do you want me to do…cheer you on for feeding on some poor woman that probably believed she hit the jackpot because you were hitting on her?"

"Wait…me hitting on someone is like them hitting the jackpot?" Damon grinned, "well…I always believed that I was treasure, but its nice to hear _you_ admit it".

"That is not what I meant and you know it", Bonnie rolled her eyes, "but its good to know that your humility is at an all time high".

"Oh come on Bonnie, you know I'm a catch".

"If you say so".

"Bonnie…admit it…come on, after all that we've shared…you can admit that I am kind of a catch".

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "If you say so, but because we have shared soo much…I will let you stay on my couch tonight".

"Thanks...you are so kind".

"I like to think that I am…come upstairs with me to the linen closet so I can get you a pillow".

"Whatever you want Goody Bennett", Damon answered as he followed her up the stairs.

Bonnie paused in the hallway and opened the closet where all of the extra sheets, comforters, blankets and pillows were kept. She stood on her tippy toes to get the pillow on the top shelf, but suddenly felt strong arms lifting her up to get the pillow. For a moment, she felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest as she grabbed the pillow and Damon sat her back on the floor.

"Thank you", she breathed.

Damon looked at the witch in front of him clutching the pillow and then he did something that he wasn't expecting to do. He leaned over and captured her lips in a kiss. The kissed lasted for a few moments before he realized what he was doing and then he backed up, "Bonnie…I'm…I'm sorry", he stumbled over his words.

"It's…its ok", she mumbled, "here's the pillow", she thrust the soft pillow in his arms, "if you need anything else…everything is in this closet…good night", and with that last statement, she breezed past him and closed the door to her bedroom.

Damon stood in the hallway with the pillow in his arms and looked towards the closed door, that he heard lock after a few moments. "Idiot", he whispered as he turned and walked down the steps.

Bonnie listened on the other side of the door as she listened to Damon walk down the steps. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she could still feel his lips on hers. She sat down against her locked door, "He's not Klaus, Bonnie…he's not Klaus", she whispered to herself, "it's ok…he's not Klaus", she repeated as she closed her eyes tightly.

**Did you notice the change in the genre? Here we go…if you liked it or loved it…let me know with a review! Thanks a bunch!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Finally! Things are moving in the romantic direction! Thank you all for sticking with me and reading this through the slow process of them becoming cordial…to them becoming friends…and now…**

**Thank you for your comments and reviews, they are greatly appreciated. I am so proud and happy when it comes to this Fic and I thank you all for reading and supporting me. So here we go…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

Damon planned to be out of Bonnie's house before she woke up, but by the time that he opened his eyes—he realized that she wasn't there. She must have slipped out while he was in a coma or something. He stood up from the couch and closed his eyes as he played last night's moment of insanity over and over in his head.

_Bonnie paused in the hallway and opened the closet where all of the extra sheets, comforters, blankets and pillows were kept. She stood on her tippy toes to get the pillow, but suddenly felt strong arms lifting her up to get the pillow. For a moment, she felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest as she grabbed the pillow and Damon sat her back on the floor. _

"_Thank you", she breathed. _

_Damon looked at the witch in front of him clutching the pillow and then he did something that he wasn't expecting to do. He leaned over and captured her lips in a kiss._

"Idiot", he whispered hitting the side of his head, "why would you kiss the witch who is two steps away from being insane…good going…you're lucky she didn't set you on fire".

As he stood in the middle of the room, verbally assaulting himself, the front door opened and Bonnie walked in. She was carrying bags and when his eyes met hers, he saw something flicker in them, but it disappeared just as quickly, "I brought you something to eat", she spoke up holding up a plastic bag.

"Well Bonnie, I'm not really a fan of donuts", Damon smirked.

"Its blood Damon", she replied walking towards the kitchen still holding the bag.

"You went to get blood for me?"

"I didn't know which kind you liked…type A, type B…O…I wasn't sure, I got the kid at the blood bank to get every kind…", Bonnie rambled on and he could see that her hands were literally shaking as removed all of the bags from the shopping bag, "I felt kind of silly paying a kid behind a building to get me blood, but a little spell made him not ask too many questions…"

"Are you going to look at me?" Damon asked quietly.

Bonnie looked at him, "Yes…but I want you to drink these or take them with you".

"Do you want to talk about last night?"

"About…?" she asked staring at him blankly.

"What happened in the hallway upstairs?"

"Oh…that…it was nothing, it was just a moment…that's it", Bonnie shrugged.

"Was it?" Damon asked.

"Yes…you didn't mean to kiss me, did you?" Bonnie asked.

"Well you were there and I was there…and I did kiss you and I wasn't drinking, so I can only say that I meant to kiss you".

"But why…do you just go around kissing people now, is that part of your change?"

"No, I don't…look…I did not plan that, but it just happened".

"Ok…but why…Damon, you and I…we at best are friends at this point".

"I know that, but last night…I don't know what came over me".

"Well neither do I, but I would like to think that it would never come over you again", Bonnie replied quickly, "now please, drink your blood".

"How about I take it to go?" Damon replied putting the bags back into the shopping bag.

"That works as well", Bonnie said.

"Ok, well thank you for providing me a place to stay last night…see you around Bonnie", Damon stated walking out of her back door.

Bonnie leaned against the counter as she heard Damon's car start outside. She didn't sleep at all last night as she played the kiss with Damon over and over in her head. She wasn't sure what she felt from that kiss at this point. He tasted like some kind of alcohol, but he also tasted like blood. She knew the taste, she knew it well. The first emotion she felt was surprise. Lately, Damon had been caring towards her, but she never expected a kiss. He was in love with Elena…or was in love with Elena for heaven's sakes. Damon kissing her just wasn't…what she expected. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around Damon feeling anything for her outside of friendship and even that was hard to grasp. It took her a long time the previous night for her heart to stop beating rapidly. It was a mixture of surprise and a little fear. The last person that kissed her was Klaus and it was disgusting. It made her feel sick, but the kiss with Damon just scared her and confused her. Maybe the other part her was right. Damon saw her as a damsel in distress and maybe that's why he kissed her. Either way, there would be no more kisses.

SSSSS

Damon walked into the boarding house and into the kitchen placing the bags of blood in the refrigerator. He had called himself an idiot a million times since last night. He had no idea why he had kissed Bonnie. Maybe after his night with Polly, who resembled a ferret, he wanted to kiss a woman who definitely did not look like a ferret.

He poured a glass of blood into a glass and took a gulp. He told Stefan and Elena that he had no interest in Bonnie and he liked to believe that he was telling the truth; but the previous night made him feel slightly different. She was standing in the hallway, looking at him with that face of hers and she just looked…she looked like someone that he wanted to kiss, so he did and he probably wrecked whatever friendship they had.

Sure she was beautiful and her personality had improved _immensely_, but kissing her or showing any romantic feelings for her was one of the most idiotic things he had ever done (and being who he was, there were not many). There was no way that he could tell Stefan about this. He would just lecture him on the fact that Bonnie was fragile and she shouldn't be used to satisfy some urge that Damon had at the moment and Damon would be forced to stake him or something. In addition, there was absolutely no way that Elena could find out about this. Not because he wanted her for himself, but because if she knew that he had kissed Bonnie—she would go to Bonnie and talk about that replacement stuff and that would more than likely send Bonnie over to the boarding house to set him on fire.

"Idiot", he whispered again closing his eyes, "no more kisses…remember that".

SSSSSS

"Look at my shirt…it's been ruined!" Caroline shrieked as they entered the boarding house holding her white shirt which was drenched in blood away from her body.

It had been a month since the 'kissing' incident and somehow Bonnie and Damon had kept their distance from each other. It was only this particular night that some new vampires had marched into town and decided to exercise their vampirism on a group of Robert Lee high school students at a party in the woods. Immediately the gang found themselves saving the day, with the new vampires realizing that Mystic Falls was not a town that they could take over easily.

"We will get you another shirt, Caroline…look at my hand, it's healing slowly…thanks a lot Witch!" Damon spat out as he looked over at Bonnie.

"You got in the way while I was trying to set that punk one on fire…I said I was sorry and do you see what happened to me after you went off screaming like a little girl", Bonnie said pointing to a cut on her forehead.

"I did not scream like a little girl", Damon defended.

"This is just like old times", Elena smiled as she cleaned some blood off of her arm.

"I need to put something on my forehead", Bonnie said as she marched down the hallway towards the bathroom.

When she got inside, she flung the medicine cabinet open and was actually surprised to see medical supplies. She still had the scar on her face and she refused to add another mark to her face.

"I need something for my burn", Damon said squeezing behind her and looking through the cabinet.

"Oh you will heal…stop being a baby", she said applying ointment to her forehead.

"It's not healing fast enough and I don't want something else to go wrong, but thank you for your concern", Damon snapped.

Bonnie rolled her eyes as she turned to leave the bathroom.

"I was actually surprised at you tonight", Damon spoke up.

"Surprised at what?" she asked turning back to face his back.

"The fact that you were able to take those vampires down with no problem".

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"After what happened with Klaus and by this being the first time that we've had to fight…"

"I know, when they first showed up…I did hesitate for a moment, but I quickly recovered when one of them was trying to take a bite out of me…my therapist says…" Bonnie began without actually thinking and quickly regretted her last statement.

"Wait", Damon said turning to face her and glanced down at her, "you're going to therapy?"

"Well when I told my dad I wasn't quite ready to get rid of my scar, he figured or he assumed that something else was going on…so he sent me to therapy…"

"Uh, huh and how's that working out for you?" Damon asked.

"Well I told her that something happened with a man and that he hurt me, I didn't say the man was a vampire or anything. She had me talk through some of my feelings and I am starting to feel like things are being pieced back together".

"Well I'm happy to hear that", Damon replied, "maybe the therapist will also help you with your judgey attitude".

Bonnie gasped, "I have been nothing but nice to you".

Damon held up his healing hand in her face.

"You are healing and once again, you got in the way".

"Oh did your therapist teach you about apologizing when you have done something wrong to someone?" Damon asked.

"You know what, maybe I shouldn't have told you about the therapist", she replied turning back towards the mirror, "and that's why I won't tell you what she says about you".

"What…wait…why are you discussing me in therapy?" Damon asked.

Bonnie continued to apply the ointment.

Damon bit into his wrist and held it in front of her mouth, "Drink?" he replied looking at her in the mirror.

"No".

"Bonnie, it will heal it much faster", he replied.

She rolled her eyes and licked his wrist, "Happy?"

"Yes", he stated turning her around to face him, "now, why are you discussing me at therapy?"

Bonnie sighed, "Because you are a part of why I am actually getting better. You were the first person I talked to about the Klaus thing and you made me feel ok, so that's what I talk about…my therapist says you are a great support and maybe I should talk to you when she's not around".

"See and you've been avoiding me".

"I haven't been avoiding you".

"Oh no…you have been avoiding me", Damon replied closing the bathroom door.

"I don't know what you are talking about".

"Ever since I had that moment of pure insanity in your hallway a month ago, you haven't been around at all…"

"I've been busy catching up with schoolwork".

"Uh, huh".

"I have been and besides, that moment of pure insanity was just that…a moment of pure insanity…the kiss was circumstantial, you were pissed because you picked up a woman in the bar that didn't meet your high expectations and you decided that you needed to wash that from your memory by kissing me…it's understandable".

"Is that what you're _therapist_ told you?" Damon smirked.

"You're an ass", Bonnie replied starting towards the bathroom door, but Damon stopped her.

"Look, I'm sorry about the therapist crack…I'm glad you're getting better and becoming your old self again".

"Thank you".

"And the kiss was not because I was trying to erase what happened with that woman. Something came over me in that hallway and it wasn't insanity…"

"Damon…"

"Look, I know that I should apologize for the kiss…but I can't".

"I really need to go…", Bonnie said turning to the door as she felt her heart began to race.

"Can we just talk about this for a moment?" Damon asked.

She turned back to him.

"I've missed talking to you", Damon whispered looking down at her and into her eyes. He moved her hair away from her face.

"I've missed you bugging me at my house as well".

"We were building a pretty good friendship there for awhile".

"We were", Bonnie said.

"Well there is no reason why it has to stop…is it?"

Bonnie shook her head as she matched Damon's eyes and before she knew it, he was leaning down and kissing her. Her heart beat up against her rib cage as she melted into him and he pulled her closer. It was the first time that she had been close to a guy like this since her days with Klaus and she fought every inch of her not to run away afraid.

"Hey…its quiet, Bonnie did you kill Damon…not that we really care out here or anything, do you need me to bury the body!" Caroline banged on the bathroom door causing Bonnie and Damon to jump apart.

Bonnie touched her lips as she looked at Damon.

"No Blondie…we don't need you to do anything, the witch was just in here telling me how much of a baby I am…nice huh!" Damon asked as he reached past Bonnie and opened the door walking out.

Bonnie shook her head as she walked out of the bathroom a little dazed and very much confused.

SSSSS

"So Bonnie, what's new?" Dr. Alicia Talbert asked sitting in a chair across from Bonnie the next morning.

"Well that guy that I told you about, the guy who helped me get away from the man that was hurting me…well…he kissed me", Bonnie confessed.

"He kissed you", Dr. Talbert said scribbling along on her notepad.

"Yes…last night…well that was the second time he kissed me".

Dr. Talbert raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said that you two were just friends…or as you called yourselves frenemies".

"Yes, we were…_we are_…the first time, it just happened and this time…it just happened, they're not planned kisses on anything".

"Did you welcome these kisses?" Dr. Talbert asked.

"Umm…well I wasn't expecting them, but I'm not upset that they happened or anything…it's weird".

"How do you feel when he kisses you?"

Bonnie shrugged, "I don't know, I feel a couple of things…at first, I'm surprised…then I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest and I try not to be afraid, I mean…it's Damon and he has been nothing but supportive in his own way since he found out about what happened, so I try to relax but a part of me has a quick flash to what Klaus did and then…I don't know…"

"Well that's natural Bonnie, you went through a horrific ordeal and Damon is the first man since that ordeal that you have engaged in a romantic relati…"

"Oh no, Damon and I do not have a romantic relationship, it was just two kisses…we are far from a romantic relationship", Bonnie protested.

"Well he is the first man that you have kissed since what happened with Klaus, correct?"

Bonnie nodded, "And it's not like I am completely repulsed when he kisses me or anything".

"So you're attracted to Damon?"

"Attracted to him…well Damon's attractive and I guess any woman who is insane would want him…"

Dr. Talbert smirked, "Yes because as you said previously, he can be a narcissist".

"Exactly, but when he kisses me…for a moment…I feel like there is nothing wrong with me, that the past won't forever haunt me and that I can actually be normal again".

"Well Bonnie, you know how I feel about the word 'normal'".

"I know, but I want to be me again and being me doesn't send me into almost having a heart attack because some guy kisses me".

"Bonnie, you were sexually assaulted…"

Bonnie cringed as soon as Dr. Talbert started. She hated hearing that term. It made her feel like a victim and although she was definitely Klaus' victim, hearing that term brought her back to that room on that night and she hated being there.

"Bonnie…after going through what you went through, I understand why you may feel a little scared about entering into a relationship with another person".

"I don't want a relationship with Damon".

"Do you want him to stop kissing you?" Dr. Talbert asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Damon was in love with my best friend for a long time, he never paid me any attention…I think he is just…I don't know, transferring his feelings or something to me. If any of my friends knew about this, they would have me checked into a psych ward".

"Why?" Dr. Talbert asked.

"Because Damon and I were complete opposites and they would think that if I had any romantic feelings towards Damon, then it is a side effect of what I went through".

"Well do you have any romantic feelings for Damon?"

Bonnie thought for a few moments and then spoke, "I've been so caught up trying to wrap my head around how do I go on after what happened with Klaus, I never focused on whether I felt anything for Damon but friendship…"

"So what about now after he's kissed you?"

Bonnie frowned and sighed, "I think I may need to sign up for some more sessions".

Dr. Talbert chuckled, "Ok".

SSSSSS

Damon approached the Bennett house after receiving a call from Bonnie about an hour ago to meet her at her house. He wasn't exactly sure what she wanted. After their kiss in the boarding house bathroom, they had kept their distance and he was perfectly fine with that. He had no idea why he kept kissing her…oh wait…yes, he did. He had become attracted to her. Her face, her smile (which had been hard to come by for awhile), that wit of hers that frustrated him and also intrigued him a little—those qualities are what made him slowly fall down into some hole that made him want to kiss Bonnie Bennett. He knew that it was completely wrong. After all that she went through, he was kissing her and probably confusing the hell out of her. He was confused himself and he wasn't confused often. Sure, he thought the witch was cute before and her personality left a lot to be desired, but somewhere along the way he saw a different part to her. It wasn't the part where she was crying or distraught about what Klaus did to her—it was the moments when she was determined to fight him back or move past what he did. He always knew that the Bennett girl was strong, but he was realizing just how strong she was and that was attractive.

When he raised his hand to knock on the door, it opened and Bonnie stood in the doorway, "Hi, I'm glad that you could come by", she replied walking away from the door as he followed closing it behind him.

"You're glad that I am standing in your living room, what's going on?"

"I want to talk", she said playing with the ring on her right finger, "about what happened or what is happening between us, rather".

"Ok…did you bring me here to flambé me or something?"

"No, I wanted to talk to you and let you know that if you kissing me was a result of some weird way to make me feel better or a way for you to somehow get your mind off of Elena, I understand that and I get it…but…"

"Me kissing you has nothing to do with Elena, did she say something to you?"

"No, I haven't told anyone about our kiss…well…except for Dr. Talbert".

"Lovely…so are you hiding it?" Damon challenged her.

"Did you tell anyone?"

"Well…no…"

"Well I guess, we're both hiding it", Bonnie declared, "but I don't understand why…why did you kiss me?"

"Because I wanted to".

"Because you feel sorry for me or something".

"No".

"Then why?" Bonnie pressed.

"Because…", Damon replied searching for the words that wouldn't send her running to her room and closing the door in his face, "because you know what, you were right…it was because of Elena".

Bonnie nodded as she felt a part of her heart fall off a little in her chest. She suspected as much, but it was still a little sad to hear him admit it.

"I understand", she said smiling and nodding, "I mean, I get it…you were in love with her for so long and you are realizing that you two will never be together and we've spent so much time together…I get it".

"Bonnie…", Damon said reached out for her, but she moved away.

"Damon, you don't have to make everything better anymore and its ok…I'm fine and I get it".

"Ok…"

"So maybe, we should just stop the kissing".

"Ok", Damon replied.

"Or at least you should find someone else to kiss".

"Yeah", Damon agreed looking directly into Bonnie's eyes.

"Well, you can let yourself out…I need to cook dinner and sorry, there's no blood for you here", Bonnie turned around walking towards the kitchen.

Damon nodded as he watched her walk away and realized that he couldn't let this happen like this. He sped over to stand in front of her.

"Damon, what are you doing…I think we've said all that we need to at the moment", Bonnie replied looking up into his eyes.

"I lied", he confessed.

"Lied?" she asked, "about what?"

He placed his hands on her cheeks and looked down at her, "I lied, this has nothing to do with Elena…or with Klaus for that matter", he whispered bending down and kissing her on the lips with an intensity that almost knocked her onto the floor.

As he steadied her with one arm and then returned his hands to her cheeks, Bonnie closed her eyes and placed both of her hands on top of his and her heart increased its pace in her chest.

**Well she didn't run away. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you all for your comments and reviews. I appreciate you all and I am grateful that you are indulging me in this little fic. I wanted to say that this was just a little fic idea kicked around on fanforum and one poster, SkySamuelle, encouraged me to write it and I thank her for it!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Bonnie was the first to break away from the kiss and backed up from Damon, "I…I don't know where that came from", she mumbled, "where is _this_ coming from?"

"What do you mean?" Damon asked walking closer to her.

"You…kissing…me…where is that coming from?"

"I don't know, where did you kissing me come from?"

"I don't know", Bonnie said walking away from him and into the kitchen.

"Oh you know where it came from", Damon followed her, "you're attracted to me".

Bonnie removed food from the refrigerator as her hands began to shake and as she took out the salad dressing, it slipped from her hands and Damon caught it, "My kiss has you so off your game that you can't even use your hands, well I am impressed", he smirked.

"That's not it", Bonnie said turning to look at him.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know where this is coming from…one moment, we're friends and the next we're kissing and I _want _to kiss you…that is…it doesn't make sense".

"Well I have to agree with you there", Damon replied, "but I don't know where this came from either, but I know that there is something going on between you and me".

"Is this because you feel sorry for me…because you feel like I need to be saved or something?" Bonnie asked.

"What…no…"

"Then what is this about, you never wanted to kiss me before…did you?"

"No, you were pretty annoying before", he replied thoughtfully.

"Oh so now that everything that happened with Klaus, I've been kind of neutered, so I'm attractive to you", Bonnie snapped, "well I have no interest in being your replacement for Elena, so you should just leave me alone!"

Damon moved closer to her, "You are not a replacement for Elena, I told you that earlier and you are not neutered, I am sure you are just as judgey as ever".

"Then why…what makes you want to kiss me?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know, but I know that somewhere along the line throughout all of this—you became someone that I _wanted_ to talk to and trust me, those people are few and far between and I guess the attraction is a natural progression".

"I don't know what to say".

"Well why did you kiss me back?" Damon asked.

"I don't know".

"Ok, let's try this another way…do you hate me?" he asked.

"No, I haven't hated you in a long time…"

"Ok, when I'm around…how do you feel?"

"Depends, are you being an ass?" Bonnie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Damon narrowed his eyes, "No, I'm being my usual lovely and charismatic self".

"Then in that case, I feel annoyed…but when you are not being your usual lovely and charismatic self—I feel safe and I feel like I can talk to you, show all of my emotions…good and bad…there are not many people that I can talk to about what happened and you are one of those people, so I guess…", Bonnie trailed off.

"You guess…", Damon pressed.

"I guess that somewhere along the line of becoming friends and all, I saw the potential of you being…someone that I want to kiss".

"Does my kissing you, scare you?" Damon asked.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"Your heartbeat, I can hear it".

Bonnie placed her hand over her heart; it was beating rapidly, "No…no you don't scare me".

"Then why is your heart beating like that, it sounds like it's about to jump out of your chest…you don't see Klaus when I kiss you, do you?"

"No…I don't see Klaus".

"Do you think that I would do what he did?" Damon said in almost a whisper.

"No…I don't…no…"

"Ok, so what…do you want me to keep my distance?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No, somewhere along the line…I started appreciating your presence, so I may either be insane…which is _entirely_ possible or I somehow became attracted to you ".

"So what does this mean?" Damon asked.

"I don't know…I know that I still have a lot to work on and I don't want you to feel as though that I see Klaus when you are near me or something because I don't…"

"Ok".

"But Damon, I also know how you are and I am not at the place right now where I can handle some type of relationship with you…besides all of that, Caroline and Elena would think that I am nuts".

"Wow…you really know how to make a guy feel good", Damon grimaced.

"No…I mean, we went from 0 to 60 within a couple of months and…I don't know what to say", Bonnie rubbed her forehead.

"It's ok…I'm pretty sure Stefan would want to stake me if he even thought that I was pushing up on you".

"Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Because after everything that happened, everyone wants to protect you Bonnie. I don't know how it went from protect Elena to protect Bonnie, but no one wants you to get hurt and apparently I am that guy who would hurt you now".

Bonnie shook her head, "I honestly believe that you would never hurt me".

Damon nodded as he walked over to the back door, "I would definitely try not to", he agreed, "but maybe I should go".

"Damon, don't disappear on me…", Bonnie called after him.

He turned around and smirked, "Now, why would I go and do a thing like that?" he asked before walking out of the door closing it behind him.

Bonnie watched the door close and let out a breath as she touched her lips.

SSSSSS

Damon walked into the boarding house and right into Stefan who was walking out of the library. "Hey", Damon mumbled heading for the stairs.

Stefan opened his mouth to speak and then stopped, "You smell…like Bonnie", Stefan replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"Were you with Bonnie?"

"The witch and I are friends, so yes…I was with her".

"Doing what?" Stefan questioned.

"Stefan, is there something that you want come out and ask me?"

"Damon, are you just being a friend to Bonnie?"

"Yes!" Damon rolled his eyes, "why can't you just accept that instead of always being so suspicious".

"Because I know you and I know that you usually have two responses to an attractive woman in your life, either you become obsessed with them or you use them…what are you doing with Bonnie?"

"You know what Stefan, I thought that you would be more concerned with what I am doing with Elena", Damon smirked leaning against the banister.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well you say that I get obsessed and do you think that I would just give up an obsession like that?" Damon smiled.

Stefan grabbed Damon by the collar and pushed him up against the wall, "Leave Elena alone".

"Wow, Stefan…first concerned about Bonnie and now finally, you're girlfriend…", Damon teased as he pushed Stefan away from him, "you're confusing _me _now, have a nice night".

Damon headed up to his room with Stefan's eyes burning holes into his back. He wasn't sure exactly why he needled Stefan about Elena. He was sure that he didn't want to steal her away anymore, but he had no intention of giving Stefan any inkling that he had kissed, thought about kissed, or dreamed of kissing Bonnie Bennett. He would take the evil looks and sniping to protect that and her.

SSSSSS

As the sunlight touched Bonnie's eyelids the next morning, she opened her eyes to see the ice blue ones staring back at her, "Good Morning Judgey", he whispered reaching out and touching her cheek.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered back, "how did you get in?"

"You really shouldn't leave your window open at night; anyone can enter your bedroom".

"My father is down the hall", Bonnie replied as she widened her eyes.

"Then I guess you will have to be quiet then", Damon leaned over and closed the space between them with a kiss.

Bonnie turned onto her back and closed her eyes as she felt his lips softly dance on her neck. She moaned quietly as she felt his hand delicately touch her neck as she felt his lips touch her ear, "Do you think that you could replace me, Precious?" the voice whispered in her ear.

Bonnie's eyes flew open and she looked up to see Klaus' red black veined eyes staring back at her, "How could you replace me so quickly?" he asked as he noticed his fangs growing in his mouth.

Bonnie felt a moment of panic attack her as she tried to move, but couldn't as she tried to get away from him.

He held her arms over her head, "You think because they stuck that dagger in me that I would just disappear?" he asked staring down at her.

"You're not here…you're not here", Bonnie said closing her eyes tightly as she felt the tears slip from under her lids. Her heart was beating rapidly and she felt as if she would throw up at any moment.

"Oh…is that what you believe…that I'm not here…?" Klaus frowned looking down at her.

She stared up at him as he leaned down and put his lips near her ear, "I will _always_ be here, I'm inside your mind and you can't get rid of me there", he whispered as he drew his back and Bonnie felt him dig his fangs into her neck.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Bonnie screamed as she suddenly felt the weight of Klaus lift and she opened her eyes.

She was lying in her bed alone, sweating and there was no one in the room. Bonnie jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom flipping the bathroom light on and looking into the mirror. Suddenly she felt sick and dropped to the floor flipping up the toilet seat emptying the contents of her stomach. When she was finished, she stood up and searched for the fang marks in the mirror, but her skin was unmarred, except for the scar on her cheek. She looked back into her bedroom and there was no one. She covered her eyes, "No, no, no…this can't be happening", she cried, "this can't be happening…he's gone…Klaus is gone", she repeated sitting down on the bathroom door, "he's gone".

SSSSS

"Do we need anything else?" Elena asked as she checked her shopping list as Bonnie pushed the cart through the supermarket a few weeks later and the day before Thanksgiving, "I have the cranberry sauce…the turkey…string beans…potatoes…Bonnie, should I get pumpkin pie or apple…"

Elena stared at the apples in the produce section, "Bonnie…"

She turned around to see Bonnie staring into space leaning on the cart as she smelled something burning from behind her. She turned to see a section of produce on fire, "Bonnie!" she screamed as she headed over to her shaking her as the employees in the store ran over with fire extinguishers.

Bonnie shook her head as the fire miraculously died down, "Elena?"

"What happened?" Elena whispered.

"I don't know…", Bonnie replied.

"Let's get out here", Elena said pulling Bonnie away from the cart and out the door of the supermarket. When they reached Elena's car, she turned to Bonnie, "Did your powers just go crazy in there and you had no idea?"

"I'm sorry…I…I don't know what happened".

"Bonnie is something going on, I thought that things were getting better".

"They were…they are…I just…I haven't been sleeping much".

"But why, I thought Dr. Talbert was helping you".

"She is".

"Did something happen?" Elena asked.

Bonnie closed her eyes and though about the last kiss with Damon in her kitchen and then the nightmares that she had since that night, "No, nothing happened…I guess, it just comes and goes".

"Well how can I help?"

"Elena, it's a process…well that's what Dr. Talbert says. I will be fine soon and the fact that I am spending Thanksgiving with you and Jeremy will make things better", Bonnie smiled.

"Yes…I'm surprised that you didn't take your up your father's offer to spend Thanksgiving in St. Louis".

"Elena, I spent too much time away from Mystic Falls…I want to spend it with people here in Mystic Falls".

"Those people also include Damon", Elena replied.

"I know that".

"I just noticed that you two haven't been spending much time together that's all", Elena shrugged, " is your friendship over or something?"

"No, we're still friends…", Bonnie trailed off looking out of the window.

"Good…I'm happy about that. I need you and Damon to get along", Elena smiled as she pulled out of the parking space and headed onto the street.

Bonnie continued to look out of the window and then she turned to Elena, "What exactly happened between you and Damon, did you two ever…"

"We never slept together Bonnie, we came close…I will admit, but in the end…I couldn't do that to Stefan and I think deep down, neither could Damon".

"So did your feelings for him just evaporate?"

Elena paused, "Bonnie, I don't think I ever felt for Damon anything more than just a really good friend. It was a rough time with Jenna, my father, my mother and then you. I guess, I was just trying to do something different or get away from everything…I don't know. I'm just grateful that Stefan forgave me and we are moving on".

"That's great to hear, I don't know what I would have done if I came back and everything had changed, but things are exactly the same", Bonnie smiled.

Elena turned to her and returned the smile.

"So I guess since I ruined your shopping trip, we will be having pizza for Thanksgiving", Bonnie smirked.

"Nope, I'm going to drop off a list to Stefan—he can get the rest of the stuff and then we are going to my house to watch movies and pig out".

Bonnie nodded as she looked out of the window as Elena continued to drive.

SSSSSS

"You're only invited to Elena's so that we can be one big happy family, do not antagonize Jeremy", Stefan warned as he walked into the living room where Damon was sipping on a glass of blood.

"Now why would I antagonize Young Gilbert?" Damon rolled his eyes.

"Because you live to do things like that".

"But right now, I'm having a good time antagonizing you".

"You know Damon, you were really starting to seem like a better person a little while ago…what happened?" Stefan asked.

'The witch stopped answering my calls' Damon thought to himself, "I have no idea what you are talking about".

"Your snide comments about still wanting Elena and all, I thought we all moved past that and here we are again…"

"Look, I was just messing with you…I have no desire to be with Elena, I only said that because you were riding my back about being Bonnie's friend".

Stefan twisted his mouth into a doubtful smirk as the front door opened and they heard two sets of footsteps. As soon as the door closed, Damon could smell her. Bonnie was here and her heart was beating at a steady pace. He stood up as they entered the room and immediately he locked eyes with Bonnie who immediately looked away.

"Hey", Stefan greeted Elena with a hug and a kiss, "I thought we would see each other a little later".

"Well we had a slight mishap at the supermarket, so I was wondering if you could finish up the shopping for me", Elena replied sweetly.

"Mishap…what happened?" Stefan asked on full alert.

Damon noticed Bonnie's posture change and immediately he could feel every part of him come alive.

Elena shook her head, "Nothing bad, we just had to leave without finishing…I have a list right here, but you have to be sure to get everything exactly like the list says".

"Elena…I don't think I'm the best at…"

"It's all spelled out Stefan", Elena replied.

"I don't know Elena, he burns water…I wouldn't trust him in a supermarket", Damon snickered as Stefan sent him a death glare.

"Stefan, it will be easy and if you need my help…just call me…Damon can go with you".

"Oh no, I have a date…I'm not going near a supermarket today", Damon replied as he noticed Bonnie's head snap up.

"Stefan…", Elena whined a little.

"Elena, you can go with Stefan and I will meet you at your house later", Bonnie spoke up.

"Bonnie…no…I made the list", Elena replied holding it up.

"Elena, its fine…we will still have our girl's night".

Elena sighed, "Ok…I will leave my car here, I will drive with Stefan to the supermarket and you will meet me at my house in about two hours?" Elena suggested.

Bonnie nodded as Elena handed her the car keys and Elena and Stefan headed out of the boarding house. As Stefan's car started, Bonnie turned to walk out of the house but was stopped by Damon calling after her, "Not even a Hello Bennett?" he asked.

"Hello Damon", she replied not facing him as she began walking towards the door.

"Hey…did I do something wrong, I called you a couple of times".

Bonnie turned around and frowned, "I'm sorry…I've been busy".

"With what?"

"School…my dad was home for a couple of days…", she shrugged.

"Uh, huh…and you didn't have time to return not one of my calls, I thought you told me not to disappear on you—but you've been the one pulling the disappearing act".

Bonnie played with the keys in her hands, "I didn't mean to disappear…", she trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked walking closer to her and looking down.

"Don't…", she began and then cleared her throat, "don't you have a date?"

Damon scoffed, "That was to get out of going to the supermarket with Stefan, it's a weekday…I date on the weekends only, remember?" he smirked.

Bonnie smiled slightly, "How could I forget".

"So why have you been avoiding me, is it because of the kiss or _kisses _rather?" he asked.

Bonnie closed her eyes, "I don't want…"

"You don't want what…Bonnie look at me", Damon coaxed her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"What happened in the supermarket?" he asked.

"I set the produce section on fire".

"And how did that happen?"

Bonnie stayed silent.

"Bonnie, how did that happen?" Damon asked touching her arms.

"I don't know", she said.

"Is she back?"

"No", Bonnie shook her head, "I haven't been sleeping".

"What…why…is something going on?"

"I've been having nightmares of Klaus".

"Since when?" Damon asked.

"The last time we kissed and it doesn't make any sense…I know that Klaus is gone and you don't remind me of him…the fact that I'm having nightmares about him and that they are making my powers go haywire just shows that I will never get past what he did and I will never be normal…I can't even handle someone kissing me without regressing to the traumatized person that I was when I first got away from him".

"You are not that person".

"Damon, I set a group of apples on fire…I can't close my eyes to sleep because I see Klaus…you kiss me and suddenly I don't know which end is up".

"Bonnie…"

"Damon…I thought I was getting better…I thought that things were better and look at me…", Bonnie sighed, "I just…I just really have to go".

Damon reached out to touch her hand, but she moved away, "I will see you tomorrow at dinner", Bonnie replied.

"I don't know, are you going to come knowing that I will be there?"

"Damon, I don't want you to think that I don't want to be around you…but I'm a mess and I doubt that's what you want to deal with right now", she replied.

He held up his hands in surrender, "Fine, see you for dinner tomorrow".

"Yes, tomorrow", she replied before opening the front door and walking out.

SSSSS

After asking Elena for a rain check on their movie night and promising to come over bright and early to assist with cooking Thanksgiving dinner, Bonnie went home and got in the shower. After what happened in the supermarket and after her run in with Damon, she felt drained. While she was appreciative of everyone looking out for her, she felt as if they were all watching her to see if she would break finally. She assumed that because most of her breaking points had come only in the company of Damon, so everyone probably assumed that she was holding everything inside.

Then there was Damon. He had went from her enemy to a friend to a confidant to the person that she found herself romantically attracted to. When she looked at him, she could see that he cared about her and wanted to make things better for her. It was indeed a foreign concept—one that scared her. His kisses had made her feel safe, but she was starting to wonder why? Sure, Damon was attractive, but after all he had done before she was kidnapped by Klaus, it was hard for her to understand why she suddenly felt as if she was drawn to him.

As she stepped out of the shower and walked over to the mirror wiping the condensation away, she gazed at her reflection gently touching the scar. As soon as her father returned following her second kidnapping, he wanted to set up an appointment with the plastic surgeon to get the scar removed. Bonnie protested almost immediately and at that time, she had no idea why she wanted to keep it and neither did her father. He quickly told her that he would set her up with an appointment with a different kind of doctor. Although he never said it, Bonnie was sure that he suspected that the scar had not come from falling on a glass.

The first appointment with Dr. Talbert, Bonnie was asked why she wanted to keep the scar. She thought for a few seconds and then she replied, 'It means that I survived' and in a way, to Bonnie, it did mean that she survived. Klaus did horrible things to her and she was sure he tried to break her, but he hadn't and Damon was right…she was stronger now. One day she would get the scar removed, but today was not that day.

Bonnie slipped on her night clothes and walked out of the bathroom to see Damon lying on her bed, "Damon, I thought that we were seeing each other tomorrow".

"Well Stefan and Elena are starting to prepare Thanksgiving dinner and I had no intention on being there when they managed to set our house on fire, so I thought…where else could I go…and I decided that the Bennett house was a step higher than a burning inferno", he smirked.

Bonnie shook her head as walked over to the mirror brushing her hair up into a ponytail, "The couch downstairs is always open".

"Don't I know it", he sighed rolling his eyes.

Bonnie smiled as she walked over to the bed and crawled up to the headboard, "You know, everyone is going to start to think that we have something going on", she looked over at him.

"But we don't, so what they think doesn't matter", Damon replied, "unless, we _do_ have something going on".

Bonnie turned to him, "Do you really want to deal with me on that level. I have a lot of baggage, I'm not sure that I can go a day without having a slight panic attack or just drift off to another place…and we can't ignore the pink elephant in the room…"

"Which would be…"

"The fact that I am…the fact that I…", Bonnie felt her face turning bright pink at the thought of even having this conversation with Damon, "the fact that I have serious intimacy issues".

"First of all, in case you didn't notice…complete crazy is my kind of girl…especially ones that are powerful", Damon winked as he leaned closer to Bonnie, "and also…I…yes…even _I_…Damon Salvatore am not perfect. I have my issues…I can be a pretty selfish person when it comes to things I want…"

"Ok…"

"And as for the intimacy stuff…", Damon began, but he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to her. It was true, he loved sex. It was a fact. It was a part of him and it made his world go round. He also knew that the witch was nowhere near ready for that and if one day, things got a little too hot and too heavy and he found it hard to stop…he never wanted to even come close to what Klaus was.

"See…you can't even answer that. Damon, it's ok…I know that you may not believe this, but I like our friendship…it is one of the best things in my life since everything happened with Klaus, but I do understand if you need another part to this, namely the physical part".

Damon watched how she kept looking away from him and he heard how her heart was beating rapidly. Damn the witch. Damn her for being the goody two shoes and going with Stefan to see Klaus. Damn her for allowing him to be the first one to see her. Damn her for deciding that he was the _perfect _person to tell what happened with Klaus. Damn her for being so strong about the whole thing. Damn her for being beautiful. Damn her for being the one person who could put him in his place. Damn her for being the one person who he could want to kill one second and the next second want to kiss.

He knew what he wanted…he wanted her; but despite the fact that he wanted her, he wasn't willing to hurt her down the line. "Ok, but I have no idea how you will stop yourself from kissing me whenever we're alone", Damon sighed, "maybe your therapist can help you with that".

Bonnie laughed as she moved closer to Damon and turned on her television.

Within 20 minutes, Bonnie was asleep lying next to him and he looked down at her. He absolutely no idea how this friendship was going to work, but he was willing to give it a try…

SSSSSS

The next morning Bonnie opened her eyes and sat up a little. Somehow, during the night her head had found Damon's chest. He was still fully clothed, but being that close to him frayed her nerves. When she looked down at him with his eyes closed, he almost looked human…normal…like the guy you would meet at a party. She studied his face for a moment and that's when she also realized something, the sun was shining and she had slept through the night. No nightmares…no cold sweats…just sleep and a peaceful one at that. She couldn't remember what she dreamed about, but it didn't matter—it wasn't Klaus.

"Keep staring at me Little Witch and I may get self conscious", Damon mumbled with his eyes closed.

"Did you actually go to sleep or did you just lie here with your eyes closed all night?" Bonnie asked.

"I slept, but not before you closed those green eyes and went to sleep…no nightmares?"

She shook her head, "Not a one".

"Then I guess it is a good thing that I stayed up here in the comfortable bed and not downstairs on that couch".

Bonnie smiled and nodded, "I guess that is a good thing".

"So I guess I should be going, Stefan and Elena may get suspicious", Damon said turning to get out of the bed, but Bonnie grabbed his hand.

"Thank you for staying, I know that this was not the only place that you could have slept last night.

Damon turned back to her, "But it's the only place that has my favorite judgey witch".

"Oh I've moved up to a favorite?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

Damon reached out and touched her cheek, "Yes, you kind of have", he whispered before leaning down and kissing her. He meant for it to be a quick kiss, but instead it lasted a little while longer and when he broke away, he noticed that Bonnie was a little out of breath, "so I guess the not kissing part of this friendship is not going the way that we planned, huh?"

Bonnie shook her head, "No…guess not".

"Well can't say that I'm disappointed", Damon replied standing up, "see you at dinner Judgey…I hope you have prepared a speech as to why you are thankful for me this year".

Bonnie chuckled, "Goodbye Damon".

"Goodbye Judgey", he replied before walking out of her bedroom as she smiled.

**I figured it was time for Bonnie to be a little happy and I am trying my best not to rush the Bamon relationship. Oh and it will be their little secret for awhile…**


	19. Chapter 19

**I am so grateful for the response to this fic and also, I am delighted that you all are willing to go with the Bamon flow. Now…Thanksgiving…**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

After somehow arriving at Elena's house at 9 in the morning, Bonnie sat in the kitchen mashing the potatoes. Elena was somewhat concerned about her asking for a rain check the night before, but she didn't press it too much as she went upstairs to take a nap. Bonnie was grateful that she didn't have to answer too many questions about what she did the previous night; while she wanted to talk to Elena and Caroline about what was going on between her and Damon, she knew they would think it was a result of Post Traumatic Stress or something and to a degree, she wasn't sure if it wasn't.

"So she assigned you to potatoes huh?" Jeremy asked walking into the kitchen, "I have to do the string beans".

Bonnie smiled, "Well she did the turkey, the dressing, the desserts…I guess this is the least we could do".

"I guess…but somehow, if we do it wrong—I know she will go crazy".

"That's probably true, but I think she just wants everything to be perfect".

Jeremy nodded, "Yeah, you know this is the first Thanksgiving where we are all marginally content. Last Thanksgiving was hard…Jenna was gone and umm…you were gone too".

"But this year, I'm here and I know that Jenna is missed, but things are getting better…aren't they?"

"Definitely, look at you…you look much better than you did a couple of months ago", Jeremy replied.

"And how did I look a couple of months ago?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow in mock indignation.

"Umm…well…umm…", he stumbled.

"I'm just playing with you Jeremy, I know how I looked and acted a couple of months ago. I know that it was hard to even be around me, but I promise you—I am getting better".

"Are you?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, going to my therapist has helped a lot and having my friends around…it all helps. I have my moments, but I'm starting to feel like my old self again or some version of her anyway".

"Bonnie…", Jeremy began but stopped, "I just…I miss you".

"Jer, just because we are not dating doesn't mean that we can't be friends…you know where I live, my phone number hasn't changed…you can always call me or just come over to hang out, you have no idea how I crave normal most days".

Jeremy grinned, "That sounds good…I will keep that in mind".

"Good", Bonnie smiled back at him.

SSSSSSS

Damon watched Stefan load up food into the trunk of the car in bewilderment. While he knew that Stefan was soft, Elena had turned him into a domestic…it was a little disturbing. "You could be helping", Stefan replied as he placed the last covered dish in the trunk.

"I don't understand why we are even going forward with the façade…we're vampires, we don't eat anything that you put in that trunk that Elena had you slaving over last night…so why would I help?"

"Because you are going to the dinner today and this is the first time that things are even close to being normal for Elena and Bonnie, so we are being good sports".

"I doubt they even have blood for us at that house", Damon sighed as he slid into the driver seat of the car.

"If you're going to complain the entire time, you can stay here".

"Wow…thanks _Dad_, but if this is secret club meeting—I'm coming, you may try to vote me out".

"I doubt that Bonnie would allow that", Stefan mumbled.

"What was that?" Damon asked.

"Not a thing", Stefan smirked looking out of the window as Damon drove away from the house.

As they drove to the Gilbert house, the images of the night before went through Damon's mind. The truth was he hadn't slept the night before. He watched over Bonnie as each hour drifted by. He was prepared that if she had a nightmare to wake her from it and let her know that she was safe with him. His need to protect Bonnie was tricky. If she had any inkling that he was attempting to protect her at every turn, she would walk away from him. She believed that she was stronger because he told her that she stronger, but if she for one moment thought that he believed she was weak—he knew that she would keep her distance from him and he did not want that.

SSSSSS

Bonnie slipped the strapless green dress over her head and looked in the mirror. She had to admit she looked refreshed and happy, better than she had looked in weeks. She pulled her hair into a side ponytail and smiled in the mirror. Today, it appeared that her scar wasn't as glaring as it usually was. As she slipped on her heels, she heard the front door open downstairs and Elena greet Stefan. She could hear Damon's voice and her heart skipped a beat. She had to giggle at the fact that she felt like a girl with a crush and how in the heck did she get to this point anyway. She smoothed down her dress and opened the door to Elena's room, but not before she ran into a hard chest standing outside of the door.

"Da…", she began as he gently took her shoulders and backed her up into the room closing the door with his foot.

"I told them that I was coming up here to check out my hair", he replied.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "And they believed you?"

"Doubt it, but who cares…you look amazing", he replied as his eyes roamed over Bonnie's body in the slightly clingy green dress.

"Thank you", she said, "and I'm surprised you even came to this".

"Well I am being a good sport and we have _soo_ many things to be grateful this year, I thought that I would come and at the very least bring some comedy to this dinner".

"I hope that you will be on your best behavior", Bonnie warned.

"Of course and between you and Stefan, I am pretty sure that I won't have too much fun tonight".

"Oh so I dull your fun?" Bonnie crossed her arms and glared.

"You are _my_ fun, Bennett", he said, "now can I have a kiss, so I can think about it all during dinner and I can be thankful that you have amazing lips".

Bonnie smiled as she shook her head and Damon wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her to him and kissing her softly for a few moments. Bonnie closed her eyes as Damon's lips caressed hers and she was almost taken to a different place until she heard Elena calling upstairs, "Bonnie…come on! And Damon…you two! Your hair looks fine!"

Bonnie broke apart from Damon and smiled, "I think we should go".

"You first", he replied.

Bonnie reached up and touched his lips removing traces of her lipstick, "See you downstairs", she whispered as she opened the door and walked out of the room.

Damon started towards the door, but then he heard Bonnie stop as he heard Jeremy's voice, "Bonnie…you look…you look pretty", Damon heard the Young Gilbert barely get out, "I know what _I'm_ thankful for today".

Damon clenched his jaw as he heard Bonnie giggle as they walked down the steps together. "I will not kill the kid…I will not kill the kid…I will _not_ kill the kid", he mumbled as he headed down the steps.

When he reached the bottom of the steps, every seat at the table was taken and apparently Caroline and the mutt had joined the dinner, so the only seat left for Damon was next to the mutt and next to Jeremy, because the kid had already plopped down next to Bonnie.

Damon yanked his chair out and sat down.

"Now that everyone is here…_Damon_…we can actually eat", Elena smiled, "and because I was outvoted, before eating we don't have to say what we are thankful for this year".

"Good", Damon mumbled under his breath.

Stefan glared at Damon across the table.

"Ok…everyone can eat", Elena smiled as she passed the bowl of potatoes.

Damon watched everyone pile food on their plates, even Stefan and he just sat back shaking his head. This was truly a sight to see.

"Damon, you don't want anything…try the potatoes, I made them", Bonnie smirked at him.

He returned her smirk, "Did you happen to mix in some A negative with them?"

"That's gross Damon, really it is", Caroline frowned.

"Oh come on Blondie, don't act like you are above some A negative".

"I also like food Damon", Caroline snapped.

"Damon…really…try the potatoes…", Stefan urged him, "maybe then you will have something else to keep your mouth occupied".

Damon chuckled, if he said what was on the tip of his tongue, _this_ would be a different kind of dinner.

"Despite Damon's last comment, this is just like old times and things have been soo quiet…it's almost like we're normal again", Caroline smiled from ear to ear.

"I have something to say", Bonnie spoke up as everyone turned to her at the table, "I know that we voted not to say what we are thankful for this year, but I can't here and say nothing".

"Bonnie, you don't have to say anything…well know how you feel", Elena replied touching her hand.

"It's ok…I can say this…you know, last Thanksgiving…I spent it in a house in Massachusetts with a monster and at that point, I really had nothing to be thankful for. I was unhappy, I was frightened…I was broken and somehow, I found my way back to you all and ever since I found my way back, you all have been part of the reason why I feel like I'm getting better…why I feel like I am being pieced together slowly and I am thankful for having each and every one of you in my life", Bonnie managed to say and then she took a deep breath.

"Aww…Bon", Caroline said getting up and hugging her.

Damon watched as Bonnie looked over at him for a quick moment and he winked at her, a wink that did not go unnoticed by Stefan across the table.

SSSSSS

After dinner and dessert, Caroline and Tyler left to have another dessert at the Lockwood mansion, Stefan and Elena were cleaning the kitchen and Bonnie was stuck with Jeremy and Damon in the living room and if looks could kill, Jeremy would be a rotting corpse.

"Bonnie, I was thinking about going to see the new Ryan Reynolds movie on Friday and I know that you love him, so I am willing to sit next to you while you gush about him for 2 hours…so do you want to go?" Jeremy asked.

"She's busy", Damon answered.

Bonnie's head jerked over to Damon.

"Busy doing what?" Jeremy asked looking from Bonnie to Damon.

"She has to study a history test".

"History?" Jeremy cocked his eyebrow, "and how do you know that?"

"Because I'm her tutor", Damon answered.

Bonnie shook her head in amusement…was Damon serious?

"A tutor…in history…is something going on?" Jeremy asked turning to Bonnie alarmed, "is Klaus back…is Damon being a watch dog or something?"

"If we needed a watch dog, that would be Mutt Lockwood…I'm tutoring her in history since I've been alive for most of what they teach you kids, I'm helping her".

"Well what time are you tutoring her?"

"Five…and afterwards, I can go to the movies with you", Bonnie answered before Damon could, "I will call you after my tutoring session and we can meet at the movies".

"Sounds good", Jeremy grinned as Damon glared at Bonnie and she smiled back at him.

SSSSS

"Bonnie, you can stay here tonight…we are still supposed to have a girl's night", Elena frowned as she walked Bonnie out to her car later that night.

"I know, but I'm stuffed and I rather be stuffed in my own bed…we will have our girl night this week, I promise".

Elena reached over and hugged Bonnie, "You know I'm thankful that you're back and that you appear to be happy…is there something putting that smile on your face?"

"Just that I _finally_feel like that I can put what happened with Klaus behind me, it was a year of my life and I don't think I should allow it to have one more moment…you know".

"I agree and Jeremy told me that you agreed to go to the movies with him".

"As friends…I hope he understands that", Bonnie frowned, "I don't want to lead him on, but I don't want to be mean…"

"Jeremy will understand, he knows that you just want to be friends".

"Good, I don't want to hurt him".

"Bonnie, you have made yourself clear with him…Jeremy gets it".

"Ok…then, I guess I will call you tomorrow, we can go Black Friday shopping".

"Yup", Elena hugged her tightly, "I love you Bon".

"Love you too", Bonnie closed her eyes holding onto Elena.

SSSSSS

While Stefan went out hunting for poor Thumper, Damon left the boarding house and went straight to Bonnie's. When he parked his car, he realized that she wasn't home yet; so he just let himself in with the key under the angel. When he walked inside the house was dark and quiet. He hadn't been in Bonnie's house alone…ever. Even when he compelled her father to forget that his daughter had been missing for a year, he never really stepped inside. The house was welcoming, but it was entirely too big for someone who was scared of her own shadow a few months ago. He walked up to one of the pictures of Bonnie and Elena when they were kids and touched it. They were holding each other tightly and bathing suits standing by a lake. It was weird how that one photo interested him so much.

His feelings for Elena were complicated and they were something that he could never explain to himself. He knew that he loved Katherine…he felt that with every fiber of his being until he found out that she had betrayed him, but Elena? What he felt for her was nowhere near what he felt for Katherine. He thought it was purer at the time, but the more he thought about Elena and how he felt around her, the lines blurred. She was like a nicer version of Katherine and while it was great and all to know that nicer Katherine may choose him, she still wasn't what he completely wanted.

"Damon!" Bonnie shrieked standing by the door, "what are you doing here?"

"I thought that we would have a little chat", he folded his arms.

"About…", she dropped her keys and her bag down.

"You accepting a date with the kid when I was sitting right there!" he waved his arms and widened his eyes at her.

"It is not a date and I had to say something, Jeremy would never believe that you are my tutor".

"Oh please, he would believe whatever I told him to believe if I compelled him", Damon scoffed.

"You will not compel him", Bonnie stated.

"I'm not going to compel the kid, but I don't think you should go to the movies with him…he's still hung up on you".

"But I can't exactly stop being his friend completely. I know that he was hurt when I ended our relationship, but I need him to know that I still care about him", Bonnie explained, "and you rushing in like Count Jealous may not help that".

Damon rolled his eyes, "I think you are asking for trouble with the kid".

"Damon, please don't make this difficult".

"I just hate that my competition is a sniveling kid that is basically afraid of his own shadow".

Bonnie smiled and touched Damon's shoulder, "He is not your competition".

Damon paused for a moment and then spoke, "Well _of course_ he's not…but I don't want him to even think that he is".

"No one knows about our…whatever this is…Damon, just know that Jeremy and I are over and we're not ever going back to being in a relationship".

"Good…and your little speech tonight, I would like to think that it was only for me", Damon replied wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It was for everyone, but you know that I am thankful that despite everything that we have said and done to each other, you were determined to help me get better and get away from Klaus", Bonnie said quietly.

"It was nothing", Damon whispered as he bent down and kissed her. Bonnie wrapped her arms around him in response as they stood in the middle of her living room. As Damon kissed Bonnie, he felt little sparks dance across his lips. She was intoxicating. He had been with witches before, more intimately than this, and it was always that little extra something with them that almost sent him on a high. The Bennett witch that he stood kissing in the middle of this living room, sent him on the same high, but there was something more underneath.

"Oooh I forgot", Bonnie said breaking away from the kiss, "I do have something for you".

"Oooh I gift?" Damon grinned rubbing his hands together as she walked away from him and he followed.

She walked into the kitchen and bent down to look into the refrigerator as Damon admired her backside. One thing he was thankful for at that moment was her body, it was amazing. It was also something that may kill him as they tried to keep this sexless relationship up.

"Here it is!" Bonnie popped up, "O negative…sorry".

Damon looked at Bonnie holding onto the bag of blood and he took it from her hands, "I know that the whole Thanksgiving dinner thing with turkey and all annoyed you, so I still had some blood that you didn't take last time…soo…"

"Thank you", Damon replied.

"You're welcome", she grinned.

SSSSS

After a night of talking and Damon pretending to watch old episodes of The Simpsons, Bonnie drifted off to sleep and as soon as he heard the soft droll of her breathing, he followed.

The next morning Damon opened his eyes to the witch sleeping next to him still in her green dress from the day before. He sat up looking down at her, she looked almost angelic sleeping next to him and it was a little unsettling. The difference a year and a half makes indeed. He slowly took his finger and moved it along her arm. She stirred a little, but her eyes did not open. He smiled as he bent down and moved her head a little so that he could capture her lips in a kiss. At first, she didn't respond much but as he heard her heartbeat increase, her lips began to caress his and he pulled her closer to him as hands began to roam and Damon's hands started to move her dress up. This was the first time in a long time that he didn't make any calculated moves with her, he was going with the flow and the flow at this point was very nice.

He positioned himself in between her legs as he kissed her on the neck and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eyes were still closed, but he could tell that she was awake and that she was enjoying this early morning wake up call.

As Damon kissed her, Bonnie could feel her entire body become awake. It was a good feeling to wake up to someone's kisses. As he moved to kiss her on her neck, she felt his hands moving hers over her head and suddenly it was as if a switch had been turned on…

_As she felt herself falling back onto the bed, she looked up at Klaus eyes…eyes of death, "No need for you to fight this, you want this…" Klaus whispered in her ear. _

_Bonnie closed her eyes as the tears flowed freely, "Please help me…I need you to help me…please…", Bonnie begged as she looked out at the rain falling outside of the window. _

"_Bonnie, do not cry…if you continue to cry, I will have to compel you and that won't be any fun", Klaus whispered looking down at Bonnie. _

"_Klaus, I will do whatever you want…just do not do this", Bonnie cried looking up at him. _

"_Let me this easier for you", Klaus whispered in her ear. _

_For a minute Bonnie thought that he would back off, but then she felt pain all over her body as she screamed as lightening entered the room as Klaus entered her and she felt a part of herself die…_

"Damon…Damon…stop…", she whispered as she tried to move, but he was much stronger than her. She wasn't sure if he heard her or not.

"Damon…stop", she pleaded again.

Damon wasn't sure if he heard Bonnie's voice or not as he concentrated on her neck…

"Damon stop!" Bonnie shrieked suddenly as her voice cut through his lustful haze and he immediately let her go as if she had burned him.

"Bonnie…I'm sorry…", he said as she sat up pulling down her dress and looking at him, "I…I didn't hear you, I'm sorry…I was caught up…"

"I know…we were both caught up…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…"

He could see that her hands were literally shaking and he wanted to reach out for her, but he wasn't sure if that was the best thing or not, "Maybe we should just slow things down…"

Bonnie closed her eyes and sighed. She hated this, "It was just when you held my hands…I just had a flashback, its ok…I'm ok…I am…".

"Bonnie, listen to me. I know that you have a lot going on in that head of yours and I know that you are getting better, but I also know that what happened with Klaus is still haunting you..."

"But I don't want it to haunt me when I'm with you, you are not Klaus and I want to be close to you, but…"

"But we don't need for things to go faster than what you are ready for, it's fine…I really mean that", Damon said reaching out and touching her cheek.

"I'm sorry…", she whispered as tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"It's ok…trust me it is…", Damon stood up very uncomfortably, "but I need to go, I will call you later".

"Are you leaving because of this…because of me?" she asked in almost a broken voice that tore Damon up.

"No, you know Stefan will get suspicious if I'm gone too much longer and didn't you say you have shopping date with Elena at 9…well…it's 9…so you probably need to get out of that dress and as much as I would like to help you…", he smirked, "maybe this may not be the right time".

"Oh…ok", Bonnie replied disappointed as she got out of the bed.

Damon sighed and walked over to her, "I'm not angry with you…I am a little…uncomfortable right now, but I will be ok…are you ok, did I scare you?"

Bonnie shook her head, "I'm fine".

"Then everything is well in Bonnie and Damon land", he said kissing her on the forehead, "I will see you later and make sure you get me a nice Christmas gift today".

Bonnie shook her head and smiled as he walked out of the room. Her smile immediately melted as she heard his car start outside, she hated feeling this way and she hated the fact that she made him feel the way he did when he walked out of her house. Klaus was still interfering in her life and he was long gone.

Meanwhile, Damon drove away from Bonnie's house conflicted. He had lied to her. He did leave because of her. When he finally snapped out of his haze and looked at her, she was terrified of him. She quickly hid it, but he knew. The fact was that the close call this morning would probably happen again and if each time, she looked at him the way she did today—there was no way that their relationship could work on any level. He wanted her…he wanted _all_ of her…it was intense and unexpected, but he felt it with every fiber of his being and not being able to show how much he wanted her was frustrating him. He was starting to think that he was kidding himself when he said that he could go without sex. That he could be with Bonnie and somehow not want to have sex with her. Sure, he had strong willpower—but this was a true test, especially since he was still feeding and sex and feeding somehow went hand and hand in his world. The fact that he had to practically push the females away after feeding was starting to become pretty hard and if one day he slipped out, he knew that would be the end of whatever was going on with Bonnie. He was walking a tightrope in this relationship and if he fell off, he would be dealing with one or two things…a heartbroken witch or an angry witch…and neither was appealing to him.

**Sooo…I'm thankful for the brief, but lovely morning make out session that Bamon had. If you liked this chapter…loved it…or thought it was ok, please leave a comment/review. Thanks! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you all for your comments and reviews. I appreciate them. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"Bonnie, are you listening?" Dr. Talbot asked as Bonnie sat across from her the following Monday after Thanksgiving.

"I'm sorry, ", she apologized, "I've been a little distracted lately…"

"More nightmares?" Dr. Talbot asked.

"No…no nightmares, they have all but disappeared".

"Oh…so what else is going on? Is it school, I know this is your senior year and that can be stressful…"

"No school is fine, I'm starting to get the swing of things again…"

"So what is it?" Dr. Talbot pressed.

"Damon…we are getting along really well lately and although my friends still don't know about it, it really doesn't matter. Our time together is our time and there's no one judging our relationship or having an opinion on it and I like it".

"Ok…so what has you distracted…day dreams?" Dr. Talbot smiled.

"No…well…kinda…I keep…", Bonnie began and felt her face going red, "I keep wondering what it would be like to be with him…to sleep with him".

Dr. Talbot nodded.

Bonnie was a little nervous as she went on. Her father never really wanted to have 'The Talk' with her and even now, he was paying $200 a session for some other person to hopefully have 'The Talk', with her, "We had one close moment after Thanksgiving and when he was kissing me, I flashed to what happened with Klaus and I didn't react in the best way. He said that he wasn't affected by it, but I know he was…he kisses me like a little sister or something now".

"Well…are you ready for a physical relationship with him?"

Bonnie shrugged, "Some days, I think I am…and then others, I feel like something terrible will happen if we go down that road".

"Like what?"

Bonnie looked at Dr. Talbot. She couldn't necessarily tell her that she could freak out and set him on fire or something, "That I would do to him what I wanted to do to Klaus".

"But you know Damon is not Klaus, don't you?"

Bonnie nodded, "I know it and when I'm with him, I feel safe and I feel comfortable, but when it comes to the physical aspect…it gets harder to pretend that I'm ok".

"With time it will get better, but right now…maybe its best that you don't focus on the physical aspect of the relationship".

"Easier said than done, Damon says that it's ok and he understands…but I know that this is hard for him, _very_ hard for him and I don't want it to seem like I am holding him back".

"Bonnie if he wants to be with you, then he will understand".

"But it's not fair to him because I have all of these hang ups", Bonnie sighed as she stood up, "but I guess…its nothing we can do about it, I will continue to freak out when he touches me a certain way and I guess…he will deal with it until he can't anymore".

"Bonnie, if everything you have told me about Damon, he will deal with this".

Bonnie nodded, "I guess I will see you next week".

"Next week and Bonnie, you can't rush this…you will be ok and you will start to feel better, you have already made great strides".

Bonnie nodded as picked up her bag, "Thank you Dr. Talbot, I hope you're right".

"I am…I've been doing this for 20 years, trust me…I know of what I speak", Dr. Talbot winked.

Bonnie smiled as she walked out of the office and Dr. Talbot walked over to her desk to place Bonnie's file in the locked drawer. As she turned to her computer to check email, she noticed a tall dark haired man standing in her doorway with crystal blue eyes looking at her.

"Can I help you?" she asked standing up from behind her desk.

"I hope you can help me…me and Bonnie", Damon replied walking over to desk, "I saw Bonnie leave the office and I thought that this would be the perfect time to talk to you".

Dr. Talbot smirked and pointed at Damon, "Let me guess, you're Damon".

"Yes…how did you know?" he asked slightly surprised.

"Bonnie described your eyes as being so blue that you could basically see right into your soul, although as she put it, she sometimes wondered if you had one".

"Yes, that is my Judgey wi…Bonnie", Damon smirked, "but I want to talk to you about her".

"I can't talk to you about anything Bonnie says in her sessions", she shook her head.

"I didn't ask you to do that, I want you to hurry up and fix her", he replied.

"What?"

"Fix her…make her not carry around all of this baggage that she has", Damon went on, "she is putting on this act that everything is fine with her, but I know that everything is not…so you fix her…that is your job, correct…her father is paying you a boatload of money to fix her, so do it".

"It doesn't work like that and when you say fix her, that would imply that she is broken and Bonnie is not broken", Dr. Talbot replied.

"You know what happened to her, I know what happened to her and there is definitely something different about her".

Dr. Talbot nodded as she sat behind her desk, "Damon, Bonnie will heal on her own time. There is no magic switch that I can flip and suddenly she is the person she was before whatever happened to her occurred".

"Oh no, I didn't say I wanted her back to that person…I want her to at the very least not flinch when I reach out to touch her".

"It just takes time, that's all I can say".

"I don't have time", Damon stated.

Dr. Talbot raised an eyebrow, "Is there something that I am missing…are you in the military…are you shipping out somewhere?"

Damon scowled, "No, I'm not in the military. I just don't want to hurt her".

"From what I understand, you have been nothing but supportive, so why do you believe that you would hurt her now?"

Damon stared at the psychologist…was she trying to psychoanalyze him? Like he would let that happen, "Look, I'm a little older that Bonnie. I've had experiences…"

"Sexual experiences", Dr. Talbot filled in.

"_Experiences_ and while I am trying to be as faithful as I can, things are hard".

"Well if things are hard and you find that in the end, whatever you have with Bonnie is not worth it…let her know…she will handle it and she will probably understand it".

Damon paused for a moment thinking over what Dr. Talbot said, "Nope…not exactly the answer I wanted…you fix her and do it soon".

Dr. Talbot shook her head and chuckled, "I will help Bonnie with whatever she wants me to".

Damon sped over to Dr. Talbot and before she could even react, he looked directly into her eyes, "You will not remember that I was here…but you will focus on making Bonnie Bennett better, no matter what you have to do…"

"No matter what I have to do", she repeated in a trance.

"Thank you", Damon replied and before Dr. Talbot could blink again, he was gone.

SSSSSSS

"And who invaded Poland to begin World War II?" Damon asked looking at Bonnie over the history book as he lay on her bed as she curled her hair the following Friday.

"You do remember that you tutoring me in history was just a lie, don't you?" she turned to him raising an eyebrow.

"Well if I am really tutoring you, then its not really a lie…is it?" he countered.

Bonnie rolled her eyes as she turned back to the mirror, "You are just trying to make me late for the movie tonight with Jeremy".

"I don't see why you're even going…I could take you to the movies".

"Damon, no one knows that we are even…whatever we are…so no, you cannot take me to the movies and I'm giving Jeremy an olive branch here, you know that I am not attracted to him like that anymore".

Damon slid off the bed and walked over to Bonnie, "I'm not worried about _your _attraction".

"If Jeremy starts to appear as if he is expecting more, I will make sure I explain it all to him".

Damon frowned.

"Hey…you're actually kind of cute when you're jealous", Bonnie grinned turning back to the mirror.

"And I don't understand, if you are just going out as _friends_, why are you bothering with the new hairdo? And could those jeans be any tighter, shouldn't you have sweats or something?" Damon asked standing up from the bed and walking over standing behind her as they looked at each other in the mirror.

"Damon, I'm starting to think that you're not very cute when you're jealous", she turned to him, "this is just two friends going to the movies, nothing else and I will let Jeremy know that.

"You better", Damon snapped as he walked away from her.

"And what are you doing tonight?"

"Well it's Friday, I consider this a weekend day…so I'm eating out", Damon replied slipping on his jacket.

Bonnie frowned. She truly hated the whole feeding thing with vampires. She had heard enough from Elena and also from Caroline's firsthand knowledge, that feeding and sex for vampires went hand and hand. It was like some unspoken thing between she and Damon. She never asked if he just fed off of the women that he picked up in bars or did other things happen that made Bonnie very uncomfortable. He would never tell her and she didn't want to know the answer. Although they had not confirmed what they were, she had feelings for him and the more time they spent together, the feelings became deeper. When he walked into a room, she felt her heart jump a little and sometimes when she thought of something he said , she would find herself grinning for no apparent reason. She juggled feeling incredibly giddy about whatever she and Damon had to being freaked out of her mind. On some days, it was something that she believed made her feel normal and on other days, she thought that she was still a little crazy to want the person that she had wanted to kill multiple times in multiple ways.

"So, I will probably be out late…so you should lock up your house when you get home from the movies", Damon continued.

"Whenever I lock up, you always seem to find a way in".

"I could go a million different ways with that statement, but I won't", Damon replied walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders, "don't have a good time at the movies and if the kid touches you, burn him".

"You're sweet, do you know that?" Bonnie smirked.

"That's what the ladies tell me", Damon winked as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Hey", she whispered before placing her hand on the back of his neck, leaning up on her tippy toes and kissing him softly on the lips.

Damon held her closely too him counting in his head. He could only give her 15 seconds before this got out of control. When he pulled away, he could see that she looked a little rejected, "Hey, I don't want you to be distracted all night with the kid thinking of my lips", Damon grinned.

"You are so humble", Bonnie shook her head.

"And don't you forget it", he replied before walking out of her bedroom.

SSSSSS

As much as Bonnie wanted to watch the movie, she was a little preoccupied with thoughts of Damon and whatever he was doing and Jeremy, who had tried to hold her hand at least three times during the first 20 minutes. "Umm, Jer…I decided I do want some popcorn, I'm going to go get some ok", she whispered.

"I can get it for you, so you don't miss anything", Jeremy replied started to stand up.

"No…no…I'll go, I need to make a phone call anyway, my dad has called me three times", she smiled.

"Ok…can you get me some Goobers?" he asked handing her some money.

"Jeremy, I can afford the candy…I will be back", she replied touching his shoulder as she walked down the row.

When she exited the theater, she closed her eyes for a few moments trying to relax. As soon as she met Jeremy outside of the movie there, it was painfully clear that he believed this was a date. He offered to pay for her ticket and when she refused, he looked absolutely wounded—so she relented. During the Twentys, he caught her up on his life and when she asked if he was dating anyone, he quickly answered no. Then it was the handholding and it made her feel bad every single time she had to slowly remove her hand from his. Maybe Damon was right about not going on this date and it could only be bad for her and Jeremy.

Bonnie looked up at the concession stand menu trying to decide what exactly to get. She smiled a little as she looked at the flashing screen; this was normal. For an entire year, she spent her life basically locked in a house or accompanied by a monster and now, she was doing things that normal teens did…going to the movies, hanging out with her friends, shopping…having someone to flirt with. She was starting to love her life again.

"Excuse me", someone said touching her shoulder for a moment.

Bonnie turned around to see a guy with brown eyes staring back at her, "Don't I know you?" he asked pointing at her.

She searched her mind. She had no idea who this guy was. He didn't attend Robert E. Lee, so she was completely clueless.

"Umm, I don't think so…but then again, Mystic Falls is a small town…", Bonnie shrugged casually.

"No not from Mystic Falls…from Springfield…Springfield, Massachusetts", the guy replied.

Bonnie's blood ran cold, "No…you must be mistaken", she replied quickly as she turned around and rushed back to the theater. Her hands were visibly shaking as she walked into the dark theater and found her seat next to Jeremy.

"Hey, what happened to the popcorn and candy?" he asked.

"The line was too long and I had time to think about all the calories".

"But what about me?" Jeremy asked.

"You didn't need the candy either", she replied quickly as she focused on the screen.

"Is everything ok?" Jeremy asked taking her hand.

"Everything is fine…just fine", Bonnie smiled at him quickly and then turned back towards the screen.

SSSSSS

"You eyes are almost crystal clear", the woman purred into Damon's ear as they stood in the alley in back of the college bar where Damon picked up 'Cassandra', the sassy blond who immediately took a liking to him.

"Why thank you and your eyes look as if you are about to pass out", Damon replied.

"I am wide awake", she grinned as he felt her hand travel down towards his belt buckle and he immediately grabbed it, "Now, we just met, is that any way to act?" he asked smirking at her.

Cassandra smiled, "Do you really care that we just met, I am no rookie", she placed her lips on his and pressed further into him up against the wall.

Damon felt his fangs itching to descend and he closed his eyes for a few moments as he felt his body start to react to Cassandra's hand sliding his jeans' zipper down. She kissed his neck as he fisted her blond hair and he breathed out. This girl was definitely no rookie. He felt his fangs come out as he forced Cassandra to look at him. When she looked at him through her lustful haze, her eyes grew big and he immediately covered her mouth, "This will only hurt a little bit", he replied looking into her eyes as he removed her hands.

"Who said that I am afraid", she whispered as she smiled devilishly at him as he sunk his teeth into her neck and she gripped onto him tightly, "let's go back to my place", she struggled to get out as he continued to drink her blood.

"It's not that kind of party", Damon mumbled as he wiped his mouth.

"Your body tells me that it is", she licked her lips as she pulled Damon to her in a searing kiss.

SSSSSS

After the movie, Jeremy insisted that they go to the Mystic Grill and Bonnie declined. After seeing that guy at the concession stand, she just had a feeling that made her feel a little uneasy. She texted Damon as soon as the movie ended as Jeremy tried to get her to get dessert with him.

"Come on Bon, there is no need for this to end so early", Jeremy whined as he stood in front of her next to her car.

"Jer, I'm just really tired and while I enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed being here with you, I don't want you to get the wrong idea".

"What do you mean?"

"The idea that we are on our way back to a reconciliation".

"That's not what I think", Jeremy replied quickly, "I just want to be your friend like Damon is your friend, you two do all kinds of things together…don't you?" he replied with a hint of jealously.

"Jeremy, please don't do this…we had a good night and let's just leave it at that. Damon is my friend", Bonnie touched Jeremy's hand. She knew that it was a slight lie, but she knew that Jeremy would never understand the relationship that Bonnie and Damon had.

"You keep saying that, but I really don't believe it", Jeremy answered.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, but no matter what you think Damon and I are doing, that doesn't change what we are Jeremy and we are just friends…I want to say I'm sorry, but I can't…I like being your friend".

Jeremy shook his head, "I don't want to be just your friend".

"I know", she hugged him, "I know…but…I think that's all we can be".

She felt Jeremy's arms around her as she looked across the parking lot and noticed the guy from the concession stand staring at her.

SSSSSS

As they burst through Cassandra's apartment door entwined in a kiss, Damon shut down any emotion that he could possibly have and worked solely off of his physical wants and what he physically wanted at that time was Cassandra. She was quite the adventurous one and appeared to be a vampire groupie who had watched too many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and maybe read Twilight. As she pulled him down on top of her on the couch, he focused on her neck as he bit into her again and she moaned in a way that made him want to strip his clothes off immediately. He ripped her shirt off and threw it across the room as he kissed a trail from her neck towards the valley between her breasts. She smelled of roses and it wasn't exactly a smell that he loved, but something was definitely taking him over and he ignored it. As he straddled her and she reached up to run her hands along his abs, he heard his cell phone ringing. It was the theme to 'Bewitched' and he froze.

"Come on Baby", Cassandra sat up kissing him.

He looked over at his jacket on the floor with the cell phone inside and then back at Cassandra.

SSSSSS

Bonnie parked her car and headed towards her front door as she listened to Damon's voice on the voicemail, "Hey…I'm sure you're sorry you missed me, leave me a message and I _might_ return it", he said in the most arrogant and cockiest voice known to man.

"Hey…it's me…umm…I'm home from the movies, if you wanted to come over…you can…no pressure or anything…I just…I kinda want to see you", Bonnie mumbled as she spoke to his voicemail, "ok…well…call me whenever you get this".

She ended the call and walked up the stairs searching in her purse for her house keys. As she squatted down to get her keys out of her purse, her purse tipped over and everything inside went sprawling onto the porch, "Get it together Bonnie", she whispered as she starting picking up all of the contents of her purse, when suddenly a hand shot out in front of her.

"You dropped these", the deep baritone voice stated.

She took the keys and then stood up to face the guy from the concession stand, "Bonnie", the guy replied, "you do remember me…don't you?"

She blinked for a few moments as she felt like the temperature outside went down to 0…

_Bonnie looked out of the window as Klaus got into the back of the sedan with his driver and headed towards the road. She had spent most of the morning in tears replaying the previous night's events. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't forget what happened…what he did…how he touched her and at some point, she wished that her memory could be completely erased. She sat down in the window seat and looked at her wrists, they still had the purple bruises on them from when he held her hands over her head. _

_When she woke up that morning, she felt sick. Although she was pretty sure she had blacked out during the previous night, she could still remember what happened before she closed her eyes and it made her sick to her stomach. _

"_Klaus wants you to eat", a voice said from the doorway. _

_Bonnie looked over to see a vampire, who looked to be in his early 20's with sandy blond hair and brown eyes standing in the doorway. _

"_I'm not hungry", she replied. _

"_Well I wasn't suggesting that you eat, Klaus wants you to eat…so you will eat", he replied. _

"_What is he giving you? I promise that I can give you so much more than what he is paying you or giving you", Bonnie stood up and rushed over to the vampire, "I don't know if you know this, but I'm a witch and I can make you one of those rings…one of those rings to walk in the daylight…"_

_The vampire looked down at Bonnie, "A lapis luzuli ring?" he asked. _

"_Yes…I promise you that I can do it, if you just help me get out of here"._

"_Klaus said that you are to stay here…that you are his…"_

"_I belong to no one and he kidnapped me from my home. He's gone now and he won't be back for hours right…please…help me and I will help you, every vampire wants to walk in the sun and I promise that I can help you do that…I can't stay here with him…I can't", Bonnie pleaded. _

_Ordinarily she would never trust a vampire to help her, but she was desperate. She needed someone to help her and he was the only one who could. This particular vampire had just shown up a couple of days ago and she heard the other guards speaking of how new he was and how inexperienced. He probably missed being able to walk in the sun the most and she was willing to use everything she had to get him to help her. _

"_You will make me a ring if I help you escape", he replied. _

"_Yes…I promise…I promise I will"._

"_They say that you are a very powerful witch…a Bennett witch…whatever that means"._

"_I am, I am a Bennett witch", Bonnie nodded. _

_The vampire appeared to be thinking it over, "You promise to make the ring?" he asked. _

"_I promise…I swear I promise", she held up her hand. _

"_Ok…I will help you, at 9 tonight…meet me downstairs in the den and I will help you get out of here. Klaus won't be back until late tonight, early tomorrow morning", he replied, "and by the way, my name is Art"._

_Bonnie felt relief come over her body, "Thank you Art…thank you", she replied feeling as if she would be free and she could stop living this nightmare. _

_SSSSS_

_At 9 on the dot that night, Bonnie walked into the den where the lights were off and she waited for Art to come. She had a nervous energy building up in her body, but for the first time in a long time she had hope. Hope that she wouldn't be Klaus 'witch' anymore and that she would never have to endure anything close to what she endured the night before. _

_She didn't feel anyone in the den as she stood in the middle of the floor. Art seemed like he was eager to take her up on her deal, but if he wasted any more time…Klaus could come back. _

"_Come on, come on", she whispered as she looked around the darkened room._

_Suddenly she heard footsteps making their way to the room and she swallowed hard. He was coming and he would help her. Her nightmare would be over. She closed her eyes saying a quick prayer as the light came on in the room and she turned around to see Klaus standing in the doorway along with Art who was grinning at her. _

"_Oh Bonnie, you clever little minx…you went exactly for who you thought the weakest link was", he replied turning to Art who smiled back at him, "but Art here, he is my own little creation and he would never betray me"._

"_Never", Art grinned. _

_Bonnie looked from Art to Klaus and she backed up, "You were supposed to help me", she cried as she looked at Art. _

"_Sorry…I only help Klaus", Art shrugged casually. _

"_Art, good job…you may leave now, Bonnie and I need some time alone", Klaus smiled as he moved closer to Bonnie. _

_Bonnie looked over at Art hoping that this was part of some master plan that he had to help her, but when the door closed and she was face to face with Klaus…she knew…_

"So you remember me, do you not?" Art asked staring back at her with the same cocky grin he gave her when he stood in the den grinning at her after he had betrayed her.

"Yes, I remember you", she replied staring back at him unflinching.

"Well I was hoping you would…you know I wasn't sure if it was you in the movie theater, until I saw the scar…the scar always gives it away", he replied reaching over and touching her cheek.

Bonnie glared at him as he smiled back at her dropping his hand.

"Well Bonnie, aren't you going to invite me in…I mean, we're old friends after all", he replied.

Bonnie stared back at Art. He was just one of the many vampires that guarded her, heard stories of how Klaus was using her and listened to Klaus' every command to keep her imprisoned in that house. She didn't feel afraid. She didn't feel frightened. She felt angry and she looked at Art standing there with a smirk as if he was the baddest vampire walking.

She smiled back at him as the door opened behind her and she walked in backwards never breaking her gaze with Art, "Sure…come in", she smirked as Art smiled back at her and took a step over the threshold.

Art stood in the foyer, "Nice house, I think it will be nice for me to crash here for awhile", he replied.

Bonnie looked at him as she shut the door behind him with her mind, "You're not Klaus, but you will do", she hissed as Art suddenly grabbed the side of his head and went down on his knees in front of her.

SSSSS

Damon slid into the driver seat after walking out of Cassandra's apartment building. He smelled his shirt, he smelled exactly like her…roses…it was disgusting, he hated them. He dialed his voice mail and Bonnie's voice immediately came on, ""Hey…it's me…umm…I'm home from the movies, if you wanted to come over…you can…no pressure or anything…I just…I kinda want to see you". He smiled as he listened to the message. She kinda wanted to see the witch too.

After taking one last look at Cassandra's window where a light was still on, he shuddered and drove out of his parking space. He needed to change clothes and take a shower before stepping foot in Bonnie's house.

SSSSSS

Bonnie listened to the vampire scream in agony on the floor as she stood over him giving him multiple aneurysms. The muting spell she had put around the house, would help keep all of the neighbors from hearing anything. This was the first time that she was able to take out any of her hatred for what was done to her on someone directly involved with the situation. Her other personality had taken all of this away from her and she was determined to make this vampire hurt for betraying her and then grinning about it.

"Is something wrong with you…do you have a headache?" she whispered bending down as he thrashed around on the floor, "did you think that you would come here and I would be your victim like I was Klaus'?"

The vampire reached out to grab her, but she moved away and that's when she lessened the aneurysm and he managed to stand up. He attempted to speed over to her, but she stopped him and pinned him against a wall, "I told you I was a Bennett Witch, I thought you knew about us", Bonnie replied walking over to him with her arms crossed.

"When I get down from here…", the vampire panted.

"What…you're going to drain me…are you going to rip my throat out…let's see how that works for you", she replied swinging her hand and two slashes appeared on the vampire's wrists as blood flowed out of them and he screamed.

"Does that hurt?" she asked cocking her head to the side, "how do you like being someone's toy?"

"I didn't do anything to you…it was all Klaus!" he spat out.

"Oh but you were a foot soldier and you were happy to help him do whatever he wanted to me and since he's not here…I guess it's on you!" Bonnie hissed as she moved her finger slowly in front of the vampire and a thin line appeared across his neck as blood dripped out.

"Please…stop…I'm sorry…I'm sorry for what he did to you!" the vampire pleading as Bonnie continued to put various slashes on his body.

"Sorry…you weren't sorry before…is it because _you're_ the victim now…is it because there's no one to help _you_ now?" Bonnie asked.

"I was a young vampire…I was dumb…I'm sorry!" the vampire yelled.

Bonnie looked at him and took a deep breath, "You know what…you're right…you said you're sorry and I really can't blame you for being one of Klaus minions…now can I?" she asked as she released her hold on and he dropped to the floor in a heap bleeding all over her carpet.

"No…no…you can't", he hiccupped.

Bonnie walked over to him with a slight smile on her face and then she kneeled down to look at him, "So how does it feel?" she asked looking at him.

"How…does…what…feel?"

"To believe that someone is going to keep you from death only to betray you?" she asked as there was a cracking sound and a chair leg came flying into her hand and she stabbed the vampire through the heart with it. He yelled as his body began to shrivel up and he collapsed onto the floor as a dried corpse.

Bonnie looked down at the blood that had pooled at her feet and at the dried corpse on the floor as tears sprang to her eyes and she covered her mouth to quiet a sob.

SSSSS

Damon dialed Bonnie's cell phone after he got out of the shower and he got no answer. She was probably either giving him the silent treatment for not answering his phone earlier or the phone was buried somewhere and she couldn't find it. He pulled up behind her car in the driveway of her house and slipped out of his. As he stood in the driveway, something was different. He couldn't hear a thing coming from Bonnie's house…nothing…it was eerily quiet and that didn't sit well with him. He took off running towards the house, jumping up the stairs and banging on her door. "Bonnie…open the door…Bonnie!" he yelled as he searched the porch for the stupid angel that they kept the key under. He picked up the angel and threw it across the yard as he retrieved the key and fought to get it in the door.

Once he slipped the key in the hole, he flung the door open praying that whatever he came face to face with would be something he could handle. He rushed into the house and he found Bonnie on the floor scrubbing a very large blood stain with a shriveled vampire corpse lying beside it.

"Bonnie", he said walking in slowly.

She looked up at him, "I killed him", she whispered as she went back to scrubbing.

Damon nodded slowly as he kneeled down across from her and placed his hand over hers, "I see", he said quietly.

She nodded slowly as she continued to scrub the floor, "I killed him", she repeated as Damon nodded again.

**If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review…I appreciate them all. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello all, I finished this somewhat earlier than expected and I thought after all of the love shown on the previous chapter that I would upload this one. Let me know what you think. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"Bonnie…Bonnie…stop", Damon said taking the scrub brush from her and helped her stand up from the floor.

"I killed him…I killed Klaus", she smiled slightly at him.

Damon slowly looked down at the shriveled corpse on the floor. He was pretty sure that whoever this vampire was, it was not Klaus.

"Bonnie…I don't think that's Klaus", Damon stated gently.

She looked down for a moment , "Oh my god…", she gasped, "did I say Klaus…I didn't mean him, I meant…"

"Who was he Bonnie?"

Bonnie closed her eyes and breathed deeply, "He was one of the vampires that Klaus had guarding me. He saw me in the movies with Jeremy and followed me home".

"Did he hurt you?" Damon asked touching her arm and pulling her closer to him.

"No, I hurt him…I tortured him…", she said looking down at the corpse, "and then I killed him".

"Did you do it or did your other personality do it?" Damon inquired searching her eyes for any indication that the Other Bonnie had returned.

Bonnie shook her head, "No, no…I did it…it was me…oh my god…I think I'm going to be sick", she clutched her stomach and sat down on the couch.

"I'm going to get him out of here…bury him in the woods…"

"I'm going with you", Bonnie stood up.

"No…you stay here".

"No, I'm going with you…I did this, I can help you…don't treat me like I'm some wounded animal Damon".

Damon sighed as he looked down at the corpse on the floor, "Fine, but do you have a blanket or something…we need to cover him up somehow".

Bonnie nodded, "I will go upstairs and get it".

Damon nodded as she headed up the stairs and he looked down at the corpse on the floor. He felt a knowing pain in his stomach as he looked at the blood on the floor. Bonnie had went completely crazy on this vampire and somehow she was able to defend herself, but what if she wasn't able to. He was with Cassandra while the person that he cared deeply for was taking on someone that meant nothing but harm to her. He didn't deserve Bonnie in any capacity and he was just starting to realize it.

"I have the blanket", she replied standing on the foot of the steps.

"Good…uh…help me out here", he cleared his throat taking it from her and spreading it out on the floor.

He watched as she stared down at the corpse with her arms around her body, "Bonnie…can you help me, just a little here?"

"Oh sure…", she said dropped down on the other side of the blanket and helped him cover up the corpse.

SSSSSS

An hour later, Damon threw the shovel in the trunk of his car as Bonnie stood in front of the car looking at the dirt covered hole that Damon had thrown the vampire in. "Bonnie…come on", Damon coaxed her touching her arm.

She nodded slowly as he opened her door and she hopped inside. He touched her cheek lightly, "Its ok", he whispered.

She nodded as he jogged over to his side of the car and slid into the driving seat. Bonnie stared out of the window as the car started and they drove towards the road. She leaned her head against the window as her mind finally stopped racing.

"You don't need to feel guilty you know", Damon spoke up, "if he was guarding you in that house with Klaus and followed you home tonight, he deserved whatever you did to him".

"I don't feel guilty and that's what scares me the most", she answered and looked at him, "I don't feel guilty…not at all…that makes me horrible, doesn't it?"

"Bonnie…no".

"When I remembered who he was, I remember what he did and I wanted to make him hurt…punish him for everything that Klaus did to me".

"What did he do?" Damon asked pausing to look at her for a moment.

"I begged him to help me escape from Klaus and he said he would and he told me to meet him in a room of the house and when I did…he was there with Klaus and he grinned and took glee in the fact that he betrayed me, I guess he wanted to get in good with Klaus and he did by setting me up".

"Well he deserved exactly what happened to him tonight and if you hadn't done it, I would have ripped him apart when I caught up to him".

Bonnie smirked, "I have no idea why I'm about to say this…but that's good to know".

Damon smiled as he drove down the road back towards Bonnie's house. He felt her hand touch his on the gear shift and a gnawing feeling in his stomach appeared with a vengeance.

When they walked into Bonnie's house sometime later, they were both dirty from digging the grave for the vampire. Bonnie walked in and stood in the living room staring at the blood stain, "I need to get that out".

"Probably…but right now, you're tracking dirt all over the house", Damon replied.

Bonnie stood in the middle of the room as she felt every nerve on her body come alive and she was nervous more than ever before as she turned to him. As soon as she stuck that stake through that vampire, she felt something. While she was taken aback by what she had done, she was somewhat proud of herself, if that made sense. She made sure that the vampire didn't hurt her and she defended herself. She did something that she could never do while Klaus had her.

She turned to Damon who stood in the middle of the floor looking at her, "Thank you", she said walking over to him, "thank you for coming here…thank you for almost knocking my door down to get to me…thank you for helping me with this..."

"Bonnie, it was nothing…"

"It _is _something. You went out with me in the middle of the night to bury a vampire…ever since you found out about what happened with Klaus, you have been caring…you have showed me a different side of Damon Salvatore and sometimes I can't believe it…but sometimes I think you are the only person I can really talk to", Bonnie moved closer to him and Damon felt like his insides were being torn apart. He moved away from her slowly.

"Damon…", she said moving closer to him, "you are part of the reason why I was able to do what I did tonight…you make me believe that I'm stronger and that means a lot to me", she reached up and touched his face with her dirty hand.

Damon held her hand to his cheek for a few moments and closed his eyes.

"Damon, I want to…", she began.

"Don't…", he said taking her hand from his face and backing up, "please…don't say anymore".

"What…what do you mean?" she asked confused, "Damon, what's wrong?"

"Bonnie, I don't want you to think that I had anything to do with you starting to heal…"

"But you did and you have been so patient with me when most people would have just walked away…I tried to kill you and you kept coming around…when my other half offered you your deepest desire you didn't take it because you know what she would do to me…"

Damon felt like his stomach was ready to burst from the inside out as she continued to walk closer to him, "Bonnie…stop…please".

"Why…is something wrong?"

"Tonight…while you were here with this vampire…I hooked up with one of the women I was feeding off of", he confessed.

Bonnie blinked at him for a couple of moments completely silent.

"I didn't sleep with her. I didn't…I was close…but I couldn't do it…not with her…not when I have you…"

Bonnie shook her head and she immediately turned her back to him, "I'm a fool", she whispered as she covered her mouth, "I'm a freaking fool".

"Bonnie listen to me…", he reached out to touch her and she quickly walked away from him.

"No…don't…don't touch me!" she turned to face him, "I thought that you understood…I thought that you were willing to wait for me to be ready".

"And I am…I will…tonight made me realize that I want you…I am willing to wait for as long as you need me to…Bonnie, I was close tonight—but it made me realize that…"

"I don't want to hear anymore…I really don't…I was so stupid to believe that you would want someone like me…so damaged…why would I think that you would ever want me, you pity me…that's what you do…I'm someone for you to save and you like that, but I got boring because you can't exactly do much more with me other than some chaste kisses…", Bonnie said as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Bonnie…that's not it at all!" Damon walked attempting to hug her.

"Get off of me!" she shrieked, "I don't need you…get out!" she screamed pushing him towards the door, "I don't need you!"

Damon watched as a million different emotions played across Bonnie's face. When the gnawing feeling in his stomach became unbearable, he then reached out for her and pulled her to him, forcing her to look at him, "But I need you!" he shouted in her face and then said quietly, "I need you more than I thought I ever would".

Bonnie looked into his eyes and she saw the sincerity and the war that he was fighting. The war that he was fighting to be faithful to her and treat her the way that she deserved to be treated, she could see that he was fearful that he would lose the one person that believed that he was 'good enough'.

"I need you Bonnie…not because I want to save you or even because I want to sleep with you…I need you because we fit…because you are the one person that makes me want to evolve and be better", he said holding on to her cheeks staring down at her.

Bonnie closed her eyes as she felt him lean in closer to her and kiss her. He kissed her with all of the passion that he could muster up at that moment. She almost fell over by the intensity of his kiss, "Don't give up on me", he pleaded with her in between kisses.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around him as she held onto him tightly as she returned his kiss as flashes of every moment that he spent talking to her, consoling her, trying to make her smile and holding her while she cried invaded her mind, "Damon…", she whispered.

He stopped kissing her and looked at her with eyes that told her that his was afraid of what she would say. For the first time she saw the fear in Damon Salavatore's eyes and she could only say one thing, "I'm not giving up on you…you haven't given up on me", she whispered as reached for him and pulled him back to her.

SSSSS

A trail of dirty clothes could be found leading to the bathroom where the shower could be heard running. Behind the glass doors two bodies stood face to face as the water sprayed down on the both of them. They were barely touching and no sounds were coming from them. Her petite pecan form was slightly distorted by the glass door and his ivory taller form stood in front of her.

Damon reached over as the water ran down Bonnie's face as she closed her eyes as she ran her hands through her hair. He pulled her closely towards him as he slowly touched the top of her head, slowly framing the right side of her face with his hand moving the wet hair out of her face. Bonnie opened her eyes as she looked up at his crystal blue eyes and blinked as he kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth.

He turned her around as he picked up the sponge and placed some of the body wash on it. The smell of the vanilla pierced all of his senses. He loved the smell of vanilla and he loved that smell on her. He rubbed her shoulder with the sudsy sponge as she closed her eyes as she felt the soft caress on her back and she felt like she was starting to come back together piece by piece.

SSSSS

Damon leaned down looking at Bonnie as they lay in her bed later that night; he moved his fingers along her face and smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked, "I know that you wanted to take it a step further…"

"Being with you in that shower earlier was as far as we needed to take it tonight", he whispered kissing her lightly on the lips, "Bonnie Bennett, I don't plan on messing this up any time soon and as you know, I can be a very patient man…I may almost break sometimes, but you know when I am passionate about something—I stick with it".

"And are you passionate about me?" Bonnie asked looking at him.

"I most definitely am", he whispered kissing her on the forehead.

Bonnie smiled as Damon lay down and pulled her closer to him. She placed her head on his chest and she closed her eyes. There was a part of her that knew that she was not totally healed, but there was another part of her that knew she was quickly on the road to being healed and it made her feel good.

_**I'd go hungry**_

_**I'd go black and blue**_

_**I'd go crawling**_

_**Down the avenue**_

_**No, there's nothing**_

_**That I wouldn't do**_

_**To make you feel my love**_

This was shorter than what I expected it to be, but somehow I don't think you all would mind much. ;-p Let me know how you felt about it. Oh and that little tidbit at the end…strictly from Adele's version of '_Make You Feel My Love'_.


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you all for your comments and reviews on the last chapter and this entire fic. I appreciate everything that you have to say. **

**I just wanted to comment on the last chapter a little. Damon's behavior with Cassandra was a wake up call for him. I think it was the moment that he either had to say forget this thing with Bonnie or try to make it work with Bonnie…he chose making it work and that was what he needed to do. I think Bonnie has been through enough in this fic and Damon has been too good to her for another round of Bonnie's hurt and Damon's in the doghouse…so I decided to go another route and I am grateful that you decided to continue down the road with me. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"Stefan won't be home for a couple of hours", Damon whispered in Bonnie's ear as she sat on his bed trying to read one of her English assignments.

"Ok and what does that mean?" Bonnie asked looking at him.

"That means that we have a couple of hours of alone time", he whispered as he began to tickle her neck with kisses.

Bonnie giggled as Damon moved her closer to him. Since the night with the vampire and Damon's admission, things had gotten better. Bonnie still was not ready for the actual act, but she was getting there. She was comfortable around him, nightmares were disappearing and his touch at all times comforted her instead of shooting up her paranoia. She liked to believe that the day she killed that vampire, she killed a part of herself that allowed Klaus to haunt her…she got rid of the part that kept her chained to that night (or those nights) with Klaus. She was better and she knew that with time, she would definitely be ready to be so much more with Damon.

"Oh really…alone time…well…that's nice", Bonnie smiled kissing him quickly, "but I have to go".

"Wait…what do you mean you have to go?" Damon asked as she scooted her body off of the bed.

"I have to go, Caroline wants me to come over and help her with some senior science project".

"She doesn't need your help, can't the mutt help her?"

"No, he can't…Tyler's no good at science".

"So she's disturbing our alone time?"

Bonnie smiled as she leaned over to face him, "Damon, she doesn't know about our alone time".

"I think she does".

Bonnie shook her head and placed her hands on the side of Damon's head, "I will see you later, come over at around 10…I should be done by then".

"Ok…ok…fine", Damon pouted.

Bonnie kissed him on the forehead, "See you later".

Damon watched Bonnie put her bag on her shoulder, wave and then walk out of the room.

He shook his head with a smile on his face as he lay back on the bed. Sneaking around with Bonnie Bennett was indeed weird. He wasn't sure if he could put it into words. Ever since that night that he found her with that vampire corpse and he admitted that he needed her…and then that shower…he felt like their relationship dynamic had changed. Did he expect to say all of those words to her at that moment? No…but when had he ever been a man that didn't do things spur of the moment. He wanted Bonnie and he wanted her to know it. He still had his struggles with the whole no-sex thing, but things were getting better. He was finding _other_ ways to work through his impulses…it wasn't easy, but it was worth it.

"Well, well, well…sneaking around once again…", a voice drawled from the doorway.

Damon sat up and without taking a moment to even focus on the person, he sped over to the doorway and knocked the person owning the voice into the wall, "How did you get in here!" he growled .

"Oh Damon, you know I have my ways…but how could you hear me when you were too busy making googily eyes at the witch".

"What were you watching us or something?" Damon asked lowering his hand and walking away from her.

"Watching that PG movie…not at all", Katherine rolled her eyes, "but from what I hear…your witch is not that virginal, Klaus took care of that".

Damon turned around and grabbed her by the throat, "If you say anything else about Bonnie, I will rip your heart out right here".

"Oooh…touchy…touchy…", Katherine smiled as she tried to get out of his grip, but he was strong, "when I left, you were still trying to get Elena to fall completely in love with you, so now you're telling me that you are hopelessly in love with the damaged witch…you really have issues".

"Katherine, get the hell out", Damon let her go.

"Oh Damon, come on…I was the one that bought the Klaus blood to you when you needed it".

Damon walked out of his room as Katherine followed him, "Fine…so what…what do you want now?"

"I need a place to stay for awhile, I'm in between towns and I know that you Salvatores are always so gracious to a woman in need".

"And why would I ever allow you to stay at my home?" Damon asked as they entered the living room.

"Well because from what I heard, no one knows about your little thing with the witch, am I correct?"

Damon watched Katherine as he poured a drink.

"And I am sure that is lovely with your relationship being all pure and everything and its wonderful that no one knows…I mean, how would Elena take it to know that you have replaced her with her best friend…or how would Stefan take it knowing that his brother, the person who basically destroys everything that he touches is playing touchy feely with Klaus' victim, Stefan does like Bonnie a great deal…do you think that he would approve of your relationship?"

Damon swallowed a gulp of his drink.

"Oh come on Damon, I only need to stay for a few days…I promise I will be good".

"No".

"Oh come on, I fight the good fight with all of you".

"Only when it benefits you".

"Details, Damon…details…come on, I thought you were into helping those in need".

"You are never in need Katherine or rather if you are in need, it's because you want something from me or someone else in town…so what do you want?" Damon narrowed his eyes.

Katherine smiled as the front door opened and Damon listened as Stefan walked down the hallway, "Damon…", Stefan paused in the doorway, "what is she doing here?"

"Stefan…it's so nice to see you", Katherine walked over to him, "how are things in good ole Mystic Falls".

"What are you doing here?" Stefan folded her arms.

"I'm just stopping through town and I was just asking Damon if I could stay here for a couple of days…he refuses", Katherine pouted.

"Good, we don't need you here. Things are going good, we don't want you here".

"Is that true…Damon? Maybe I should ask the witch, you know we can bond over being stalked by Klaus…maybe we can have some girl talk", Katherine smirked.

"Fine…fine…stay here!" Damon barked.

"Wait…what…she's not staying here, she's probably up to something", Stefan argued.

"Then if she is, we will kill her…we have our witch back now and she has been working on some new spells".

"Yes, _your_ witch", Katherine smirked.

"Look, you have a week and don't cause any trouble while you're here", Damon ordered.

"Oh I won't…this will be soo fun…just like old times", Katherine grinned, "so which one is my room".

"The basement is empty", Stefan commented as he kept his eyes on Damon.

"The room right next to yours, Stefan…sounds great!" Katherine smiled as she headed up the stairs.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Stefan glared over at Damon, "letting her stay here…hell…letting her stay in Mystic Falls".

"Its only a week".

"Only a week, that's what she says…I don't trust her…are you two involved again?"

"No…no…I wouldn't touch her with _your _hands, I figure it's better to appease her for a week then to have her angry and acting out".

Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Look, she brought me the blood from Klaus".

"If she does anything…_anything_…you will be responsible", Stefan warned as he walked out of the living room.

"Don't I know it", Damon mumbled as he swallowed another drink.

SSSSSS

"What do you mean Katherine's back and she's staying at your place!" Bonnie shrieked as she stood in the middle of her bedroom.

Damon stared back at her. Maybe he should have waited to tell her about Katherine until the morning or something, "Bonnie calm down".

"Calm down…you have some psycho sex pot vampire living in your house and I'm supposed to calm down?" Bonnie asked.

"Are you jealous?" Damon smirked.

Bonnie picked up a pillow and threw it at him, "No I'm not jealous…she's crazy…and she's unpredictable and you…"

"I what?"

"You are attracted to her and this is not the time to have someone like Katherine living with you".

"You don't trust me?"

"Yes, I trust you…I don't trust her".

"Well you may have to trust her because she knows about us".

"What do you mean she knows about us?"

"She knows that we are…you know…"

"She knows…", Bonnie said quietly and then her eyes grew big, "she _knows_…and she's going to do what, tell people?"

"No, she probably just likes knowing something that no one else in our group knows".

"That doesn't sound like it's enough for Katherine".

"Bonnie, she knows that if she steps out of line…she will pay".

"I still don't like her staying at the boarding house".

"Well neither do I…neither does Stefan…so I can guarantee that Katherine will not exactly be having a party at the boarding house living with us".

"You're not just allowing her to stay there because she knows about us, are you?" Bonnie asked, "because if that's the reason, we can tell everyone about us and deal with it…Katherine should not have any power over us".

Damon mulled over Bonnie's words in his head. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was allowing Katherine to stay at the house because he didn't want her to tell anyone about them. If people in the circle found out, then they would immediately get into Bonnie's ear about how he was bad for her or how he was just using her or how he was replacing Elena with her. All of those things weren't true, but he had no interest in any of their so called friends stirring those doubts up in the witch, especially since he had worked damned hard to get her to trust him.

"She doesn't have any power over us. I've dealt with Katherine before, if we ignore her she will realize that no one cares about her comments and she will just move on".

"I don't like her being at the boarding house", Bonnie frowned.

"Well, I could always move in here until she goes", Damon wiggled his eyebrow.

"Cute…but no…"

"But it's the only way you can fully protect me from Katherine".

"Protect you from Katherine?" Bonnie folded her arms raising an eyebrow.

"I'm kidding…trust me, its no big deal that she's at the boarding house", Damon shrugged.

"I hope not", Bonnie answered.

SSSSSS

"I can't believe they are allowing Katherine to stay at the boarding house", Elena complained as she sat across from Bonnie and Caroline at the Mystic Grille, the next afternoon.

Bonnie felt her stomach turn a little. Katherine being at the boarding house with Damon was driving her crazy. She was trying to be good about the whole 'Trust Damon' thing, but there were still insecurities floating around inside and the fact that Katherine, the woman he loved for over a hundred years, was living with him made her kind of sick.

"Well the way Stefan made it seem, it appears as though it was Damon who said that she could stay there…he's probably sleeping with her again", Caroline gagged.

"He is not", Bonnie spoke up.

"How do you know…I know you two are close, but I doubt he would tell you", Caroline replied, "and why else would he want someone like that living in his house. Damon is who he is Bonnie and I will admit that he was very nice to you after everything with Klaus, but I doubt some things have changed".

"I think he has and Katherine is just some annoyance that they are putting up with for awhile".

"I still don't like it. Katherine has a way of driving them crazy and Damon moreso", Elena frowned.

"Elena…you seem awfully concerned about Damon, are we having some conflicting feelings again?" Caroline asked eating a fry as Bonnie sipped on her soda anxiously waiting for the answer.

"No…I mean…Damon is a good friend and we are close, but I don't want to see him hurt again and Katherine has the ability to do just that".

"But Damon can take care of himself, come on Elena…you can tell us, are you just a little jealous that he may be thinking about Katherine now?" Caroline teased.

"No Caroline, Damon and I haven't exactly spent much time together over the past couple of months and I am in love with Stefan and things are going good again".

"Ok, good…I just want to make sure that you aren't falling back into old disgusting habits like wanting to kiss Damon Salvatore", Caroline shuddered.

"Damon's not that bad guys", Bonnie interrupted them.

"Aww…Damon's BFF is taking up for him…ok…new topic…Damon's BFF's birthday on Friday, what do you want to do?" Caroline grabbed Bonnie with a grin, "party…a big one…little one…what?"

"I would rather do nothing".

"Nothing…oh no…this is your first birthday being back, so no…we are doing something for you", Elena reached over taking her hand.

"OK…fine, just a small dinner…just us…a cake, food and that's it".

"So a boring party".

"Caroline, I don't want the entire school tearing apart my house".

"They won't tear apart your house, they will tear about Stefan and Damon's", Elena grinned.

"No…not with Katherine around".

"We will ignore her…come on Bonnie, it will be fun…let us do this", Caroline whined clasping her hands together.

"Ok…fine…fine…Happy Birthday to me", Bonnie smiled.

SSSSS

Damon stood in the middle of his living room looking around at the purple and pink decorations all over the place and the large pink 18 in the corner of the room. The banner above the fireplace read 'Happy Birthday Bonnie!' and it was a little sickening.

"Wow…what threw up in here?" Katherine drawled from behind him.

"You need to leave", Damon replied not bothering to turn around.

"Aww, I can't stay for the party. I want to wish Bonnie a happy birthday too".

"You have managed to stay out of our business for the past 5 days, continue to do just that", he turned to her.

"Do you love her?" Katherine asked picking up some of the Happy Birthday confetti allowing it to flutter to the floor.

"That is none of your business".

"Well you're not having sex…it has to get a little tiresome for someone such as you to be regulated to kissing and what an occasional caress?" Katherine moved closer to him, "I know you have needs Damon…", she whispered in his ear.

Damon closed his eyes, "But I don't _need_ you", he pushed her away.

"Oh Damon, you are so uptight…maybe its because you haven't let all of those frustrations out properly, want some help?" she asked moving her hand to his waist.

"Really?" Stefan scoffed by the door walking in with a punch bowl, "everyone will be here in a couple of minutes".

"Oh Stefan, you are such a party pooper", Katherine pouted.

"If you don't disappear, we will lock you in the dungeon downstairs", Damon warned.

Katherine smirked, "Fine…this probably won't be my type of party anyway", she snorted as she walked out of the room.

Stefan looked at Damon and shook his head.

"What…I didn't do anything, it was all her!"

"Was it…if you say so".

Damon sighed, "You know what, I'm going up to my room…let me know when the teen party is over".

"Oh so you don't want to be down here to celebrate Bonnie's birthday?"

Damon waved over his shoulder as he climbed the stairs to his room. He would come down to celebrate Bonnie's birthday, but after all of the annoying singing and dancing was finished.

SSSSS

Bonnie stood staring at herself in the mirror. She only had a few minutes before Caroline would be there to pick her up. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and smiled. Her scar was still there, but it wasn't the only thing she saw on her face anymore. While it was a part of her, she wasn't self conscious about it. She grinned as she applied blush to her cheeks.

Damon hated the idea of this birthday party. He wanted to spend the night with just the two of them and not with a bunch of annoying teenagers as he put it. She wasn't sure if she wanted this big ole party either, but Caroline and Elena were so excited about it that she didn't want to rain on their parade.

When she finished her makeup, she opened the velvet box that her father had sent her from California that morning. It was a necklace with a locket at the end. In the locket was a picture of her sitting on Grams lap when she was about 5 or 6. It had always been her favorite picture in the world and seeing it made her remember a time when things were simple. Sure she didn't have her mother, but so many things had changed since she was a child…some for the better and some for the worse.

Bonnie stood up and put the necklace on, "Well Bonnie Bennett…Happy Birthday", she whispered as she heard Caroline's horn outside.

SSSSS

Damon heard when Bonnie walked in and 50 of her closest friends yelled Happy Birthday to her. He rolled his eyes and turned the page in his book. He really hated sharing and he could just imagine how everyone downstairs worked on getting Bonnie's attention, especially Baby Gilbert who had come earlier than all of the other guests with a large box.

Baby Gilbert was still hopelessly in love with the witch and obviously had a hard time understanding that she had no interest in him. Katherine had left the house and that was perfectly fine with him. She would cause trouble and that's the last thing Bonnie needed on her birthday was Katherine causing problems.

SSSSSS

Bonnie looked around the room at the party goers as people walked over and smiled at her occasionally.

"Enjoying yourself?" Stefan asked standing next to her.

"Yes, it's really nice…thank you for offering up your house", Bonnie smiled.

"No problem".

"Where's Damon?"

Stefan gestured upstairs, "He says that he has no interest in playing chaperone to a bunch of high school kids".

"That's Damon".

"Yes, it is…but I am sure he will be down to wish you happy birthday".

Bonnie shrugged, "It's ok, if he doesn't".

"Would it be?"

Bonnie looked at Stefan but ignored his question, "And Katherine?"

"She went out, she will not ruin this for you Bonnie".

"I am surprised that she hasn't paid me a visit or something…I was sure she would want to gloat or make comments about what happened with Klaus".

"She knows that if she did that, we would run her out of town".

"Or I would just stake her", Bonnie shrugged.

Stefan chuckled, "Right".

"So 18…do you remember what we did for your 18th birthday Stefan…oh wait, I think we were getting shot by our father around that time", Damon appeared from the other side of Bonnie.

"And on cue, Damon brings the good times", Stefan mumbled.

"Happy Birthday Judgey", Damon smiled as Bonnie looked up at him.

"Thank you Damon. I didn't think you would come down here".

"Well you know Stefan threatened to make me drink animal blood for a month, so I thought this was the lesser of two evils".

"Aren't I lucky", Bonnie smirked.

"And on that note, I will walk over to Elena on the other side of the room before I get hit with a ball of fire or something".

Bonnie watched as Stefan walked across the room over to Elena while Damon watched Jeremy staring across the room directly at him. Damon waved a little and smiled, "Your little boy is sending me death glares", Damon whispered.

"He is protective of me", Bonnie replied standing in front of him.

"Of course he is. Look, can you meet me upstairs in 10 minutes…"

"Damon, I cannot leave my party", Bonnie whispered looking around.

"I will make it worth your while".

"Damon…"

"If you don't leave the party, I will make sure that every single one of these high school kids see much more than what they bargained for", Damon leaned forward with an evil glint in his eye.

"15 minutes", she whispered.

Damon winked as he walked out of the room.

Bonnie smiled as she watched him walk away and then she turned and walked into Jeremy, "Hey", she smiled.

"You and Damon, what were you talking about?"

"Me and Damon…oh you know, he was being Damon".

"What exactly does that mean at this point?" Jeremy asked.

"Jeremy…"

"Hey Bonnie, come over…let's take some pictures", Caroline called over.

Bonnie smiled over at Caroline and then focused on Jeremy, "Jer…"

"It's ok…go over and take pictures", he replied as he walked away from her.

Bonnie watched Jeremy walk away but was pulled over to the crowd by Caroline and she plastered a smile on her face for pictures.

SSSSS

Fifteen minutes later, Bonnie entered Damon's bedroom and closed the door behind her. She walked over to a dresser where a box was sitting wrapped in pink paper with a purple bow. She smiled as she lifted the box off of the dresser and fingered the bow.

"Now, now…did I say that was yours?" Damon's voice came from behind her.

She smiled and turned to him, "Who else could it be for?"

"I don't know maybe I know some other little witch, who happens to have a birthday today and happens to like the colors pink and purple".

"Who is she…I can do things with my mind…I can set her on fire, you know".

"Oooh…are you jealous?"

"Nope".

Damon wrapped his arms around Bonnie's waist and pulled her closer to him, "You sure about that?" he whispered in her ear.

Bonnie felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked up at Damon.

"So your gift…because it is for you…", he replied taking the box out of her hands.

"What is it…too small to be a new spell book…and it is definitely not a black cat…too small to be a witch's hat…so what could it be?"

"Open".

Bonnie smiled and pulled the string as she flipped the box open and emerald earrings shone back at her.

"I saw them…thought of your eyes…blah, blah, blah", Damon mumbled and rolled his eyes.

Bonnie felt a lump in her throat as she looked at the earrings and then at Damon, "They are beautiful".

"So they are probably the best gift you will get tonight".

Bonnie nodded, "Thank you".

"Well…just remember when my birthday comes that I am expecting something big".

Bonnie chuckled, "Of course".

"But…in all seriousness…Happy Birthday Bonnie", Damon whispered as he closed the space between them with a kiss.

Bonnie held onto the box of earrings as she got lost in Damon's kiss. This was the best part of her entire birthday and she wanted to savor every moment.

"You better get downstairs", Damon said breaking the kiss, "or you will not be going back down at all".

Bonnie nodded breathlessly as she let him go.

"I will be down in a minute".

"Thank you for my gift", she whispered.

"It was nothing", Damon flagged her as she walked out of the room.

SSSSS

Later that night after all of the friends left, Bonnie sat around with Elena, Caroline, Jeremy and Stefan eating cake. "You know, I had a good night…thank you for the party", Bonnie licked her fork clean of the icing.

"It was fun, I remember when we used to do stuff like this all the time", Caroline smiled wistfully, "and now we spend our nights washing blood out of our brand new shirts that we just got on sale at Charlotte Russe and it was the last one and…"

"Focus Caroline…focus", Elena interrupted.

"Oh…right…Happy Birthday Bonnie", Caroline grinned.

"Well…well…well if it isn't the get along gang", Katherine walked into the room, "Hi babydoll", she waved at Caroline.

"Katherine".

"So Bonnie…it's your birthday…well Happy Birthday", Katherine grinned as Bonnie stood up from the couch.

"I thought you would be hiding under a rock or something tonight", Bonnie smiled.

"Aww…look at you, so sassy…did Klaus teach you how to be that way?" Katherine asked.

"Katherine, leave Bonnie alone", Jeremy stood up and walked over in front of Bonnie.

"Wow, Bonnie…you still have the little boy protecting you…you two are broken up, aren't you?"

"Katherine, perhaps you should go upstairs", Stefan began.

"Upstairs…maybe I will…to Damon's room, maybe he would appreciate some grown up company right now".

Bonnie fought to control her emotions as she noticed Katherine look at her, "Unless, anyone has any objections?"

"I think Damon may have an objection", Damon appeared in the living room, "I think you've exceeded your time limit here, don't you think Katherine?"

"Damon, did I hit a button here…I haven't said anything or done anything to your precious Elena", Katherine sped over to Elena and stood by her, "or is it Elena anymore?"

"Katherine…", Damon warned.

"Oh is there something wrong Damon…"

"Katherine, why don't you just leave?" Caroline spat out.

"Leave…why would I leave…why would I want to leave this big ole incestuous circle you all have here…" Katherine went on.

"What are you talking about?" Elena asked.

"I mean…Damon was with Caroline…you, Elena were with both Stefan and Damon…"

"I was never with Damon", Elena shot a look at Stefan.

"Oh I'm sorry…I stand corrected, just a few misplaced kisses…a few hands traveling all over…am I getting warmer Elena?"

"Shut up Katherine", Stefan said through clenched teeth.

"I understand Stefan, you don't want to relive that entire fiasco".

Bonnie balled up her fists.

"While you were off bargaining with Klaus for your brother's life, he was here telling your girlfriend that he loved her…he was kissing her in his bed, telling her how he wanted to be the one in her life that she wanted and couldn't live without", Katherine went on.

"If you don't shut up…I will shut you up…", Damon growled.

"Why Damon, you don't like the truth….I understand…but that brings me to the best part of this story…the part when after a year of going through god knows what with Klaus, the wonderful witch returned to all of you and of course, Damon…you were ever the shining knight".

"That's it…you've said enough", Damon sped over to Katherine grabbing her by arm.

"What…you don't want me to tell everyone…you don't want everyone to know…?" Katherine called as Damon started to pull her out of the room.

"Everyone to know what?" Caroline asked.

"That they have been sneaking around for months now", Jeremy spoke up.

Everyone turned to Jeremy as he looked at Bonnie, "That she and Damon have been sneaking around…is that what you wanted to say Katherine?"

Katherine smirked as Damon loosened his grip and everyone turned to look at Bonnie.

**How did Jeremy know? And what will happen now? Jealously…thy last name is Gilbert. **


	23. Chapter 23

**Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing this fic. It has truly been great to see the response! Please continue to read and review and I promise I will continue to write. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"What…what are you talking about?" Elena gasped looking at Jeremy.

"You can't be serious, Bonnie would never sneak around with Damon", Caroline added.

"Damon…", Stefan sighed.

"Isn't this funny, Damon won't be happy until he's gone through your entire group", Katherine grinned.

Damon looked down at Jeremy and narrowed his eyes, "What were you stalking her?"

Bonnie stared at Jeremy as he looked at her with pure anger in his eyes and she shook her head.

"That night that we went to the movies, I knew that you weren't yourself after you went out to get popcorn. You were different, you looked like…you looked like the person that came back to us…you looked afraid", Jeremy began as he walked over to Bonnie, "so I…uh…went home for awhile and then I decided to go check up on you. I went to your house and I noticed Damon's car outside…you know, I have been watching you two for months…whenever we are all together, you throw looks at each other when you think no one's looking. I went to your house Bonnie and when I walked up to the door, I could see through the window and do you know what I saw…I saw you two arguing. You were walking away from him, you were angry and he was grabbing you…he was talking to you and then he kissed you and you returned the kiss…I couldn't believe it, after everything…_everything_…he's done to you and everyone else, you would kiss him…you would want to be with him? I watched you two go upstairs and I don't even want to think about what happened when you went up those stairs…it makes me _sick_", Jeremy spat out.

Bonnie looked at him blinking a few times as she looked around at everyone staring back at her.

"Bonnie…is all of this true?" Elena gasped, "are you and Damon…"

"Bonnie…you and Damon are not together, you can't be", Caroline shook her head.

Bonnie continued to stare at Jeremy who was soo angry, she could see it radiating off of his body.

"Bonnie, are you going to stay silent…deny it…what?" Katherine teased from behind her.

"She can't deny it…I saw them!" Jeremy yelled.

"You know what you little twerp, I'm going to shut you up myself", Damon said walking over to Jeremy as Stefan grabbed him by the arm.

Suddenly everyone began talking at once as Katherine smirked sliding out of the room and Bonnie covered her eyes. She could hear everyone calling her name and she put her hands down, "Will everyone just be quiet…please!" she screamed.

Everyone stopped talking and looked at her, "I really don't know what to say…", she threw up her hands, "have I been kissing Damon? Yes. Am I in a relationship with Damon? Yes. Is it anyone's business? No."

"Bonnie, but Damon…", Elena began.

"Must have found a way to compel you. You would never want to be with him unless he did something to you", Caroline narrowed her eyes.

"He didn't do anything to me…and I don't need to be reminded of how Damon is", Bonnie spoke up.

"Let's talk…alone", Caroline said grabbing Bonnie's arm.

"She is not a child", Damon argued.

"Its fine Damon, I will be back", Bonnie replied as she, Elena and Caroline walked out of the room.

Damon turned to Jeremy who was standing in the room staring back at him. He ripped his arm out of Stefan's grip and sped over to Jeremy grabbing him by the collar and knocking him up against the wall, "You were stalking us, weren't you…you little loser…what were you soo angry that she didn't want you anymore that you stalked her and waited until you had some back up to basically spit in her face?" Damon tightened his grip.

"Let me go!" Jeremy fought to no avail.

"Let you go…why should I…hmm…why should I let you go?"

"Or don't let me go and that will show Bonnie that you haven't changed a bit".

Damon narrowed his eyes and then dropped his hands, "Get out of my house".

"Gladly", Jeremy spat out.

"But wait…I do have something to say…", Damon replied.

"What?"

Damon raised his fist and punched Jeremy in the face sending him toppling back onto the couch. He didn't punch him as hard as he wanted to, but it would suffice to give him one hell of a bruise and a sore jaw, which was good enough for him.

"You bastard!" Jeremy got up touching his bloody lip.

"Jeremy, I think you should go", Stefan replied calmly.

"Go…really…your brother just punched me in the face…"

"Jeremy…go…please", Stefan pleaded as he watched Damon staring at Jeremy with his fists balled up.

"You will never deserve Bonnie", Jeremy replied walking out of the living room.

"Yeah well, she will never look at you again!" Damon called after her before turning to Stefan, "and if you have anything to say about me and Bonnie, I am prepared to fight you too".

"I'm not going to say anything about you and Bonnie, I've known about you and Bonnie for a couple of weeks now and tonight…when you asked her to meet you upstairs, everything was confirmed".

"Fine, so let me have it…tell me how I'm all wrong for her and how she was terrorized by Klaus and how I am taking advantage of her and I should just step away…"

"I'm not going to say that…"

"Well I am pretty sure that your girlfriend and Vampire Barbie are telling her all kinds of bad things about me".

Stefan shook his head, "What is going on? I know that you two got close when she first came back, but what is going on Damon…you have to know that this could end very badly".

"Who says?"

"Damon…you know what Klaus did to her", Stefan whispered.

"And I am not him".

"And do you believe that she's ready for a relationship with you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Damon, I know you and I know…"

"You know what…look, Bonnie and I have been doing our dance for a couple of months now and there hasn't been any blow ups".

"Really and what about the night that Jeremy talked about, you were arguing…about what?"

"That is between Bonnie and me…"

"Damon, I am honestly not judging you. I am on your side…"

"Fine…that night, when she went to the movies with Loser Gilbert, a vampire followed her home. A vampire that Klaus had as a guard; one night, Bonnie asked him to help her…he told her he would and he betrayed her, he told Klaus that she was planning to escape and let's just say Klaus was not happy".

"So what happened…did this vampire hurt her?"

"No, she tortured the bastard and killed him herself", Damon chuckled.

"Bonnie did what?"

"She killed him, when I got to her…she told me she had killed Klaus".

"So what happened?"

"Well after she snapped out of that, we buried his body and then we came back to the house. She was telling me how thankful she was that I was there and how I had been good to her…and it was tearing me apart, so I told her about how I almost slept with a woman I was feeding off of".

Stefan sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes, "Damon…this is exactly what I thought would happen. She went through hell with Klaus and being in a relationship with you is not what she needs. I know that you care about her, I know that…I see that…but do you think that you can be the person that she needs?"

"Stefan, I spent every day trying to find Bonnie…pleading with those stuck up ancestors of hers. I went with her to see if Klaus was still alive, I've been the one that she could talk to since all of you looked at her like something was wrong with her…do I think I can be the person that she needs…yes…because I have been for months".

"I just don't want either of you to get hurt".

"And neither of us will".

"So what happened after you confessed to her".

"Now that is between me and Bonnie and unfortunately, the peeping tom…you should have let me snap his neck".

"Damon…"

"What? He was wearing the ring, he would have come back to life sooner or later".

"And do you think Bonnie would have been ok with that?"

"Jeremy just ruined her party, I'm sure she would have been A-OK with that", Damon replied.

SSSSSS

Caroline closed the doors to the library and marched over to Bonnie, "Are you under some spell…did he find a way to compel you?" she asked staring into Bonnie's eyes.

"No, I am not compelled and I am not under a spell".

"Then why are you with Damon Salvatore in any capacity!" Caroline shrieked, "you hated him…we hated him together, he's a jackass and we agreed on that".

"We agreed on that a long time ago Caroline, things have changed…I have changed".

"But I don't understand…"

"Caroline, since the moment I came back…I feel different. I don't feel like the Bonnie that you used to know. I was with Klaus for a year and during that year, he completely broke me…he completely tore me down…so much so that I wasn't even myself half of the time".

"And that's why you shouldn't be with Damon, he's taking advantage…"

"Caroline he's not taking advantage of me. Damon was the only person when I came back that didn't try to go back to the way things were. I understand that all of you thought it was best if we pretended that things were the same, but the truth was…they weren't the same, they could never be the same. Damon found out what Klaus did to me and I begged him not to tell any of you and he didn't…he kept his promise and even though I didn't want him as any kind of bodyguard, he stubbornly and annoyingly took up the role".

Caroline frowned.

"And when Klaus kidnapped me again, do you remember how he wanted to find me and looked all over…this is not some misplaced hero worship that I am having. I enjoy Damon's company, he's actually…", Bonnie shrugged and then smiled, "he's actually fun to be with and I know that it's shocking, I know the last thing in this world that anyone expected would be for me to be with Damon…but I am and I like him and I don't need to justify it to anyone".

Caroline sighed, "Ok…fine…but I don't like it".

Bonnie smiled as she hugged Caroline, "I know and you don't have to…I'm the only one who has to like it".

Caroline shook her head and smiled, "Ok…fine…whatever…and…I hate to do this, but I need to go…my mother is leaving for a conference and she wants me home and at a reasonable time so I can drive her to the airport tomorrow morning".

"Ok", Bonnie smiled.

"And I'm not sold Bonnie, but we will talk more later".

"Yes, we will", Bonnie replied as Caroline waved goodbye and walked out of the room.

Bonnie turned to Elena who had been quiet the entire time and she hesitantly walked over to her, "Elena?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I didn't want to deal with the blow up that I just experienced in there".

"But Damon…Bonnie, you never looked at him twice in a romantic way and suddenly you two are involved?" Elena shook her head, "it seems a little weird".

"Things change".

"But that much? And Damon…he went from Katherine…to me…and you don't find it a little weird that after he and I had our flirtation that he would start to focus his affections on you so quickly?" Elena asked.

Bonnie blinked in disbelief as she felt a section of her heart break, "What do you mean?"

"Bonnie, I'm not trying to hurt you or be mean, but Damon never gave any indication that he saw you as anything more than my friend and now, you two are together…it just seems weird", Elena shrugged.

"If you're not trying to hurt me or be mean, you are doing a good job of it right now…are you jealous that Damon's not entirely focused on you anymore?" Bonnie asked in a whisper.

"What…no…I love Stefan, I am looking out for you Bonnie", Elena sighed and moved closer to Bonnie whispering, "you were raped by Klaus, I'm sure that it affected you and maybe subconsciously…"

"Subconsciously what?" Bonnie snapped as she felt that this situation was quickly getting out of control.

"Maybe your feelings for Damon are some kind of misplaced feelings about what happened with Klaus".

"Are you kidding me!" Bonnie exploded, "I don't feel the same way about Damon that I felt about Klaus and this is not some crazy misplaced or projecting of feelings, how could you even say that to me?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how the person I've known since we were young suddenly did a 180…you break up with Jeremy who was devoted to you and you're with Damon now…doesn't that strike you as a little crazy".

Bonnie felt the tears building in her eyes and her throat start to burn, "What strikes me as weird is that my best friend is standing in front of me acting as if I'm some mental case that is projecting some romantic feelings onto Damon because of what Klaus did to me…what also strikes me as weird is that my best friend is saying this because she's jealous…jealous that a guy who worshipped her is now taking an interest in her best friend, the one who always blended into the background…but what is even more weird to me is that my best friend states over and over how much she loves her boyfriend and not his brother, is standing here acting like a jealous ex-girlfriend of said brother…Elena, I thought you would be happy that I'm happy…but I guess that doesn't top your own feelings".

"Bonnie…that's not what I meant…", Elena trailed off.

"I think I understand what you meant", Bonnie turned and walked out of the room as Elena called after her.

Damon and Stefan heard Bonnie open the door to the library and heard Elena calling after her. Damon walked out of the living room and noticed Bonnie walking swiftly past him, "Bonnie…Bonnie…where are you going?" he asked rushing after her outside where she looked around and realized that she didn't drive to the boarding house.

"I just want to go home", Bonnie said not looking at him.

"What…why…what happened between you and Elena".

"Damon, I just want to go home".

"Let me drive you?" he said touching her arm.

"No…I don't want you to, can I just take one of the cars you have here…Stefan's…yours…I don't care?"

"Bonnie…what is going on?"

"Nothing, I just want to go home…so can I borrow a car?"

Damon nodded as he sped into the house and then returned with a key, "Take Stefan's…since his girlfriend's brother is the reason for this".

Bonnie took the key and smiled, "Thank you".

"Call me when you get home?" he said as if it was a question.

She nodded as he kissed her on the cheek and she walked over to Stefan's car starting it and driving away.

Damon stood outside as Stefan's car drove out of sight. He wanted to fight Bonnie on driving home alone, but he had something else to attend to…in his house.

"Damon…did Bonnie just leave…", Elena asked walking over to him.

"In my car?" Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"What did you say to her?" Damon asked looking down at Elena.

"What?"

"What did you say to her?" he moved closer, "because there's a reason why she could barely look at me outside there, so tell me what happened".

"Damon, this relationship with Bonnie came from out of nowhere…so we were all a little surprised".

"Surprised is one thing, whatever happened with Bonnie did not seem like it was a 'I'm surprised' conversation, so what happened Elena?"

"Damon, you never cared much about Bonnie before and suddenly you two are sneaking around as a couple…you didn't care if she lived or died awhile ago and now you are in a relationship with her, that doesn't make any sense and it also doesn't make any sense for Bonnie to be in a relationship with you…you two hated each other and now you're together…a couple of months after you were still trying to get me away from Stefan?" Elena asked as she cut a look at Stefan who was standing in the room silently trying to keep his composure.

"So is this about the fact that I'm not chasing after you anymore, do you have the same jealous disease that your brother has?"

"What…no…I am looking out for Bonnie, I don't want her to get hurt in this", Elena argued.

"Right, looking out for Bonnie…is that why she just stormed out of here in tears on her birthday, wow…Elena…good job", Damon applauded her, "but for the record, yes…I was in love with you and yes…I did want you to choose me, but you know what…it was never about you actually choosing me, it was more about you choosing me _over _Stefan and one thing that I realized during this entire situation…I don't want that anymore, I don't need anyone to choose me over Stefan because when it comes to me and Bonnie, no one else was a factor and that actually feels kind of good".

"This is not about jealously", Elena replied.

"Sure…sure its not", Damon smirked, "because if its not about jealously, you are doing a damn good impression of it", he replied walking out of the room.

Elena turned to Stefan and shook her head, "I am not jealous".

"Really because you could have fooled me".

"Stefan, I love you…why would I be jealous of Bonnie and Damon…I am _concerned_ about Bonnie".

"I know you are, but whatever you said…it had to be serious".

Elena looked at Stefan with wide eyes, "I don't want you to think that I want Damon".

"Ok, I don't…it may have taken me some time, but I do believe that you love me and you want to be with me, but I also believe that you are a little jealous that Damon has turned his affection towards Bonnie".

"That's ridiculous".

Stefan smirked, "It's not ridiculous, it's human", he replied touching her cheeks, "while it may not make me happy, I know that a part of you was attracted to Damon and I know that a part of you enjoyed the attention that he gave you…"

"Stefan, I didn't…"

"Elena, you can continue to deny it but I would rather you didn't, that's what does worry me".

"I love you", Elena whispered.

"I know you do and I love you and that's why I can see that you want to protect Bonnie and you are also jealous".

"Don't hate me", Elena whispered.

"I could never hate you", Stefan whispered back.

SSSSS

When Bonnie arrived home, she parked Stefan's car in the driveway and rested her head on the steering wheel. Her entire body felt like it had been hit by a truck. She should have known that her party was too perfect. She should have known that something would go wrong. She opened the car door and slid out. She didn't want to speak to anyone. She just wanted to go in her house, curl up in bed and try to forget that her best friend had just broken a piece of her heart.

She walked up the stairs slowly and paused at the front door taking out her key, but not before she looked to the right of her and noticed Jeremy sitting on one of the porch chairs. Bonnie turned to him, "I don't want to talk", she replied turning back to the door and sticking her key in the lock.

"That was not how I envisioned confronting you about your relationship with Damon…", Jeremy began.

Bonnie took her key out of the door and turned to Jeremy, "Really and what…did someone pull a string and you just had to say something tonight?" Bonnie snapped, "on my birthday, did you really have to do that?"

"I'm sorry…I just…I saw you and Damon at the party, I saw the way he made you smile and I got angry…"

"Angry…why Jeremy…why are you so angry with me?" Bonnie walked over to him, "is it because I broke up with you? Because you know what…if so…I'm sorry!" Bonnie waved her arms, "I am sorry for getting kidnapped by Klaus, I am sorry that he scarred me for life…I am sorry that he raped me…I am sorry that I spent a year moving in and out of a personality…I am sorry that I didn't know what I was doing or where I was half the time…I am sorry that I didn't come back as the same Bonnie Bennett that did the convenient spells, would sacrifice her life for her friends or be in love with you…I am sorry for that…I am sorry that I am not the same person that you loved…I am sorry that somewhere along the line I decided I could not be with you, but what I am not sorry about is after all of that…I'm starting to become happy again and I am happy because I'm getting better and Damon has helped me get better…so Jeremy, I'm sorry if your angry—but after tonight, I don't care anymore".

Jeremy swallowed and nodded, "I'm sorry", he whispered.

"Aren't we all", Bonnie said opening her door, "and I think you should go home".

Jeremy nodded and turned walking down the stairs.

Bonnie stepped into her house and closed the door leaning up against it and closing her eyes. She stood there for a few moments until someone knocked.

She sighed as she turned to look out of the window and she felt her heart flutter. Despite everything, he was able to put a smile on her face. She opened the door and Damon leaned in the doorway, "You forgot these", he replied opening his hand to reveal the emerald earrings.

Bonnie shook her head as she reached out and hugged him, "You never listen to me", she whispered.

"Well…what fun is in that?" Damon shrugged as he tightened his grasp.

**Well Elena didn't take the news too well…**


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you for your reviews and comments! This fic has been fun to right and its not over yet. I'm trying to keep writing until Season 3 starts. Thank you to everyone who has read, pm'd and reviewed, it means the world to me. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

"So are you going to tell me what you and Elena actually said to each other?" Damon asked sipping on a glass of blood as Bonnie walked out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and shorts. He almost hated to see her out of that birthday dress, but after the way the night ended—he was pretty sure, she was ready to put it all behind her.

"It doesn't matter", she replied crawling up next to him in her bed.

"Well you stormed out of my house and wouldn't let me drive you home…"

"And you came anyway…"

"And you're happy about that", he replied leaning closer to her.

She smiled, "I am happy about it. I actually enjoyed myself tonight and I loved your gift and then Katherine came and everything went to hell".

"Which is typical when Katherine is around".

"I was surprised she didn't stay to see the damage she caused".

"Well she knew that she was on the cusp of being killed, so she cut out when she had the chance", Damon shrugged.

"When I got here, Jeremy was here waiting", Bonnie said concentrating on the polish on her toes.

"What was he doing here…that kid will never learn…he's stalking you and right now, he's not much better than Kla…" Damon began but was interrupted by Bonnie's finger laying on his lips as she shook her head.

"I broke his heart, I know that…he waited for me to come back and I came back and didn't want him, I understand why he's upset…I told him that I was sorry for not being the person that I was when I left…"

Damon sat up, "You should never apologize to him, look at what he did to you tonight. He ruined your birthday and why…because of jealously".

"I know that, my sorry to him was not really an apology, I just went off on him…and I told him I didn't care how hurt he was anymore".

"Yes!" Damon grinned pumping his fist in the air, "that's my Little Judgey Witch, not giving a damn".

Bonnie chuckled, "That is not me, Damon. But I am angry at him, I can't help it".

"As you should be. Look, you were someone's prisoner for a year…you did whatever Klaus wanted you to do against your will, why should you come back here…to your home and do things that other people want you to do? Forget them".

Bonnie nodded, "I just hate that Jeremy got hurt in the process".

"He will get over it or I will make him get over it".

"Damon…"

"He doesn't deserve your loyalty".

Bonnie smiled as she lay down next to Damon and placed her head on his chest, "Elena…she surprised me a lot".

"Why?" Damon asked twirling a tendril of Bonnie's hair around his finger.

"She said some things that sounded like…I don't know…she was angry that we were together".

"What did she say?"

Bonnie looked up at Damon, "She said that it was a possibility that I was transferring some feelings that I have for Klaus onto you…"

Damon felt his anger shoot up. As much as he had a soft spot for Elena, that statement made him see red, "What kind of crap is that to say…to your best friend, no doubt".

"I think she was just upset", Bonnie replied.

"Jealous is more like it...", Damon mumbled.

"But you have to know that I don't see Klaus when I'm with you and I didn't feel anything with Klaus other than contempt, I don't want you to think that I'm some crazy witch that is living out some kind of vampire fantasy because I'm not", Bonnie sat up.

"Bonnie…I know…maybe when you first showed up rocking the bangs, dead straight hair and the scar I believed that and it was the little thing of you setting me on fire…but as of right now, this moment…I know that you don't necessarily hate me anymore".

Bonnie looked up into Damon's eyes…those crystal clear blue eyes that she never thought that she would look into and get lost in the way she did often nowadays, "I definitely don't hate you anymore", she whispered as she moved closer to him slowly.

"Oh really?" Damon smirked as he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Nope", she shook her head as she closed her eyes and felt his lips against hers.

He pulled her closer to him as they continued the kiss. It wasn't filled with passion like their others, but it was slow and sweet, exactly what Bonnie needed at that moment. When she pulled back to take a breath, she looked up at him, "Thank you for not listening to me".

"I will remember you said that", Damon smiled as he pulled her closer to him.

Bonnie smiled as she began drawing circles on his chest, "If you keep doing that, this may turn into a Rated R night", Damon whispered.

"Maybe I don't want it to be a PG night", Bonnie answered.

Damon looked down at her, "While I admire your bravado Little Witch, you are not ready".

"And how do you know that?" Bonnie asked sitting up.

"Because…", Damon answered sitting up to look at her, taking her hand and placing it over her heart, "I can hear that in my ears…its echoing like crazy, I have put fear in many people and I know what the drum of a heartbeat for someone that is afraid sounds like…and you are afraid".

"I'm not afraid of you", Bonnie maintained.

"I know", Damon caressed her face, "but you _are_ afraid of having sex with me".

Bonnie closed her eyes as tears slipped out of them, "But I don't want to be…I want you…"

"Why do you want me…you know that while it is hard, I am fine…you don't have to sleep with me to prove anything".

"I know that…I know that…somewhere, but you have been really good about this…almost unDamonlike", she smirked.

"Are you _trying_ to compliment me?"

"I know that this is hard for you…"

In more ways than one, Damon thought to himself, "Look, yes…do I want to sleep with you…yes…do I want to do all kinds of naughty things to you, you bet I do…do I want to make you scream my name over and over again…yes, very much so…but I'm not rushing it, because I know that you will be ready one day and when that day comes, you better be ready Goody Bennett, because it won't be pretty", Damon informed her.

Bonnie shook her head, "I will remember that".

"Just remember, I warned you", Damon smirked as he pulled Bonnie back down on the bed wrapping his arm around her bringing her closer to him.

SSSSSS

Damon heard the door open the next morning before the sun rose and immediately his eyes snapped open. Bonnie stated that her father would not be back in Mystic Falls for a couple of days, so whomever was entering the house was about to die and besides, after the previous night, he wasn't too crazy about anyone in their circle.

Damon looked over at Bonnie who was sleeping away without a care in the world. He slid out of the bed and headed towards the stairs. He moved at vampire speed grabbing the intruder and pushing them up against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing!" Mr. Bennett sputtered as Damon focused and realized that he was about to choke Bonnie's father to death.

"Oh…sorry", Damon backed up.

Michael looked at Damon, "Wait…you're the Salvatore…Stefan's brother…", he replied and then looked down, "what are you doing in my house, half dressed…where's Bonnie…"

Damon closed his eyes for a few moments…to compel or not to compel…this was not exactly how he pictured running into Mr. Bennett again.

"She's upstairs sleeping".

Michael raised his eyebrow, "She's upstairs sleeping and you were…with her?"

"Look…I know that this is the best meeting that we could have had…"

"Damn right".

"But things have changed".

"I see…"

"Look, how about I get dressed and we talk…I don't think Bonnie will be up any time soon…"

Damon watched Mr. Bennett's eyes go wide…

"I can honestly say that I am only sleeping with your daughter…"

Michael's eyes went wider…

"I mean…we are _just _sleeping, nothing else…look I'm going to throw on some jeans and we can talk man to man", Damon explained, suddenly feeling like an idiot and when had he ever felt like that?

"Uh, huh", Michael replied as Damon turned and headed up the stairs.

Within a couple of minutes, Damon met Michael in the kitchen. Michael had started the coffee maker and was staring at the water drip down.

"This is not how I wanted to meet you again...", Damon began.

Michael turned to Damon, "And this is not what I expected when I came home from my trip. I knew that Bonnie had some kind of _friend_, but I didn't think it was you".

"Well I…"

"I know that something happened to her", Michael sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face, "and she won't tell me and maybe it's because I'm not the father that I should have been to her or the father that she deserves".

Damon stayed silent as Michael went on, "And I know about Mystic Falls, I know about the Bennett women…as much as I tried to ignore it, I know that my mother wasn't just crazy and I know what Bonnie is and believe it or not, I know _exactly_ what you are".

"So you know that Bonnie's a witch and I'm a vampire and you have nothing to say?" Damon asked leaning against the counter.

"I think when I left Bonnie for long periods of time, I somewhat lost my right to criticize her choices. She's made good choices without me… but I do want to know something".

"What?" Damon asked.

"What happened to her…how did my daughter get that scar on her face? She told me she fell on glass…but I am not that naïve".

"I can't tell you that", Damon answered.

"Did someone do that to her?"

"I promised her…"

Michael nodded and then asked, "Is he dead?"

"As dead as he can be", Damon replied.

"Good", Michael nodded and they were silent for a few moments.

"What is…", Bonnie began but stopped in the doorway as she stared wide eyed at Damon and her father drinking coffee.

"Hey Baby", Michael grinned walking over with his arms outstretched.

Bonnie stood still as he hugged her tightly, "I wanted to come home yesterday, but my flight got delayed…sorry I missed your birthday".

"Umm…it's ok".

"Damon and I were just drinking coffee and talking, do you want to join us?"

"Ummm…"

"Bonnie, is something wrong…?" Michael asked but was interrupted by his cell phone ringing in the next room, "excuse me, I will be back…"

Bonnie nodded as Michael left the kitchen. She walked over to Damon, "Did you compel my father?" she whispered.

"What…no!" Damon whispered back, "I know that you would give me the evil eye if I did".

"So you're saying that my father was fine with finding you in the house this morning?"

"Actually he was surprised for a few moments, but he warmed up to it pretty fast".

Bonnie raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't sound like my Dad".

"Well don't get me wrong, he did have some questions…but I guess he realizes that you are a big girl".

"I find that hard to believe, maybe he actually went to hire a hitman to kill you or something".

"I think your father kind of realizes that he lost the right to say anything about you and boyfriends ".

"Seriously?"

"I think he knows that you went through something and I guess he will do anything to make sure that you feel better…look, I have to go to the boarding house…I will call you later, maybe we can actually go out somewhere since the little twerp outted us".

"Ok", Bonnie replied.

"See you around", he kissed her on the forehead and headed out of the backdoor.

Bonnie watched as the door closed behind him and heard her father's footsteps, "Well that was not the welcome home I expected", he replied.

Bonnie felt her cheeks go a little red. Her father hadn't exactly been around when she started getting boyfriends and such and he definitely had no interest in hearing about any type of physical parts of a relationship, so this had to skeeve him out as much as she was skeeved out to know that he knew her boyfriend spent the night.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't expect you home".

"Obviously, sooo…I see that you look well", Michael replied trying to change the subject.

"Daddy, just so you know…Damon and I…we're not having sex".

Michael blinked for a few moments as if he was trying control his body not to have stroke and then he spoke again, "Umm…yes…yes…good…Damon told me that…uh…that's good".

"I just want you to know".

"Uh, huh", he swallowed.

"And the only reason why Damon is here is because…I like having him here, it makes me…", she began and then trailed off realizing that it almost made her feel needy, "it makes me feel safer and he makes me happy".

Michael looked at Bonnie with a sense of regret or sadness, she couldn't figure out which one.

"I'm sorry about whatever happened to you and I'm even sorrier that you won't tell me what happened. I know that I haven't been the father that most girls would want to have, but I do try…I know I've made mistakes and now, you're 18 and it's a little late for me to come in and try to dictate how you should live your life, but I guess I wish…I wish that when you needed to feel safe that I would be the one that you would call or come to".

Bonnie bit her lip. It was sad. When she was younger, her Daddy was the person that she wanted above everyone else. After her mother left and he started to take more business trips, he moved further and further down her list of people to call in an emergency. She wanted that relationship with him, but she knew that the time has passed ages ago.

"I'm sorry", Bonnie managed to squeeze out.

"No, I am", Michael said hugging her tightly.

SSSSS

When Damon walked into the boarding house, he hoped that Elena was nowhere to be found. He had no intentions on seeing her this morning, especially after she tried to wreck Bonnie's mind with thoughts of Klaus in their relationship.

Damon had to chuckle as he headed into the kitchen. It was funny. A year ago, he would have been smiling ear to ear to have Elena actively jealous of one of his relationships. He wanted her and having her wanting him or even admitting that she was jealous would have made his day, but now he was pissed by her mere ghostly presence in his relationship with Bonnie.

He slammed the refrigerator after removing a bag of blood and emptied the contents in a mug before putting it in the microwave. "No need to slam things", Stefan replied walking into the kitchen.

"It's better than me slamming your girlfriend into a wall", Damon answered.

"Damon…"

"Don't try to take her side, because I'm not feeling generous today".

"I'm not defending Elena…"

"Good…do you know what she said to Bonnie…"

"No, but I am sure you are going to tell me", Stefan replied.

"Damn right…she told her or insinuated that our relationship had something to do with Bonnie's feelings towards Klaus".

Stefan sighed.

"That's right, so you need to get your girlfriend under control".

"She admitted to being jealous, but there is no excuse for that".

"You're right there's no excuse. Klaus was a monster to her…he made her do things against her will…I never make her do things like that, everything that happened to me and Bonnie happened because we want it to".

"So what attracts you to Bonnie, is it because what happened with Klaus?" Stefan asked.

Damon sipped his blood, "What are you talking about?"

"Bonnie's changed".

"I know that".

"And she's only starting to get back to the Bonnie that we remember, she's becoming stronger and her confidence is coming back…are you attracted to her because of how what happened with Klaus changed her?"

"Are you saying that I want her because she was weaker or something?"

"I'm asking you".

"What are you talking about…sure…the witch annoyed me more than anyone in this world before…sure I thought about killing her more than once, but I don't know…something changed and it was before she even came back. I was pretty much an ass to her, she owed me nothing and she had threatened me more than once with death, but she still went with you to get that blood…to save me knowing how dangerous Klaus was. Then she came back and she was a different person…and I couldn't rest into she was ok. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed to be dying a slow death and I wanted to stop it…I don't know…but watching her, watching her get back to the old Bonnie…with a few alterations…and talking to her, seeing that we're not that much different…I don't know, things turned and I was happy to see them change", Damon shrugged, "and she doesn't want me to change, she hasn't tried to change me…but she does want me to be slightly better and that works".

"So do you love her?" Stefan asked.

Damon coughed into his blood, "I am very fond of Miss Bennett", he answered.

Stefan smirked, "Right, well all I can say to you is don't hurt her".

"Wouldn't dream of it", Damon grinned.

SSSSS

"So just tell me how long you and Damon have been sneaking around", Caroline stared back at Bonnie in the Mystic Grille bracing herself for her answer.

"I don't know…a couple of months".

"A couple of months Bonnie!" Caroline screeched, "and you never told me or Elena, I thought we were best friends".

"Caroline, you were there the other night…I didn't want to deal with that".

Caroline nodded in understanding, "It was just a little surprising. I knew that you two were friends, but I never would have guessed that you two would be…what exactly are you, are you two…_doing it_?" she whispered.

Bonnie had to laugh at Caroline's term, "No, we're not _doing it_, we came close a few times…but I'm not ready, I guess".

"And Damon's fine with that? I mean, I know Damon and he's not exactly the virginal type of guy".

"I know…we've had our moments, he's had his moments…"

"Is that why you two were arguing that night Jeremy saw you?"

"Something like that, I know that Damon is much more experienced than I am and I know how he was before I came back…"

"But…", Caroline added.

"But, he's different towards me now".

"Which means he's not pressuring you, right".

"No Caroline, he's not".

"Well that's good…I guess…I guess this explains why he was all crazy when Klaus showed up that second time", Caroline shook her head, "I guess it all makes sense to anyone who was really paying attention", she replied thoughtfully.

"No it doesn't make sense…me and Damon…think about that again Caroline, I wanted to kill him before".

"Well yeah, but a lot has changed since then".

Bonnie looked out of the window, "True…a lot has changed".

"Bonnie, can I ask you a question…"

"What?"

"Klaus…did he ever…was it ever…did he ever leave you alone?"

Bonnie shook her head, "I don't know what to think about Klaus sometimes. He was definitely a monster, he was definitely someone that I wished death on daily, but I think in his sick twisted mind…I think he really believed in what he was doing. I think he really wanted to bring a child into this world that would be a hybrid or something…he was sick…I think for the most part, he treated me like some type of doll sometimes…a closet full of clothes…expensive dinners…people to wait on me hand and foot, it was definitely weird…but he was a monster and he could flip at any moment".

"I hate that we couldn't find you earlier", Caroline frowned as if she was close to tears.

"Care…don't…I'm better now, you know that…I am", Bonnie reached out and touched Caroline's hand.

"I know you are, but you went through soo much and we weren't there…you were alone".

"I know, but I'm not alone now".

"Yeah, you have Damon", she chuckled.

"And you…and Stefan….", Bonnie added.

"And Elena", Caroline replied.

Bonnie shifted in her seat.

"Did something happen after I left last night?" Caroline asked.

"Elena and I exchanged some words, they weren't pretty".

"Well you two will make up", Caroline replied cheerily.

"I'm not sure about that Care, what she said…it hurt and it told me that she's not over Damon as much as she claims to be".

Caroline shook her head, "That's not true, she was just worried about you, like I was…you know how Elena is".

"No…I know what she said and that was definitely not about being worried about me".

"What did she say?" Caroline asked.

"Well Blondie…I really hate to bust up this gabfest, but I am supposed to have a date with Miss Bennett here today", Damon's voice came from above them.

Bonnie looked up and smiled as Caroline rolled her eyes, "Beat it Psycho, we're not done".

"Oh but you are", Damon replied, "I think Matt's calling you from across the room".

"He is not", Caroline said sliding out of the booth looking around as Damon slid in her place.

"Bastard", Caroline fumed, "Bonnie, we'll talk later, ok".

Bonnie nodded as Caroline eyed Damon before walking away.

"So your dad let you out of the house?" Damon asked as he drew circles on Bonnie's outstretched hand.

"We had a talk, it was sad…but it needed to happen, I think he's still a little weirded out by you being in his house _sleeping_ with his daughter".

"I assured him that we were not getting down and dirty…yet", Damon smirked causing all of Bonnie's insides to turn to mush.

"Well I assured him of the same thing and after I think he was about to have a stroke, he was ok…I think".

"That's good to know, so do you want to get out of here?" Damon asked.

"I thought that we were having a date", Bonnie smirked.

"We can have a date…back at the boarding house".

"You never take me out", Bonnie whined with a smile as she eased out of the booth.

"Well that's because you are a very bad witch and I don't want you to embarrass me", Damon wrapped his arm around her as they walked out of the restaurant.

SSSSSS

Damon entered the boarding house after taking Bonnie home and managing to somehow leave her without walking upstairs to her bedroom and was met with Elena standing in the foyer leaving the kitchen with a soda in her hand. She paused and stared at him for a few moments, "Stefan's not here, he went to…feed", she replied.

"And you are telling me that because…"

"Because I…I don't know".

"You don't know a lot of things lately, including your best friend", Damon remarked.

Elena closed her eyes and sighed, "I have called Bonnie multiple times to apologize and she won't answer any of my calls".

"Why would she!" Damon advanced on her, "why would she answer the calls of someone who accused of her being crazy…accused of her of projecting some type of deep buried romantic feelings for Klaus onto me…why would she ever want to talk to you?"

"That's not how I meant it".

"Oh really, because I would love to know exactly what you meant…come on Elena, tell me…what did you mean?" Damon leaned back onto the banister.

"I just…I just didn't want Bonnie to be confused about you two so that she would get hurt in the end. I did not mean that she wanted Klaus or that she sees you as some type of substitute".

"I don't believe you, but all I want to know is why Elena…why are you jealous now?" Damon asked, "for years, I wanted you…I wanted you to want me and even we became close, you still pulled away…I would have killed for you to be jealous that I had found someone else and now…you are and it makes me sick".

"I only want to protect Bonnie and yes, I will admit it…I was a little jealous…and I feel horrible about it, but I was".

"Well I suggest you get over it because me and Bonnie, we're not some passing fancy or some circumstantial relationship".

"Do you love her?" Elena asked.

Damon leaned forward to look Elena directly in the eyes, "I love her as much as I can love anyone at this point and that's a whole hell of a lot and you need to make good with her. I worked a long time to get that witch to smile again and I don't want to see all my work go to waste because of you and some misplaced jealously".

Elena nodded shell shocked as Damon breezed past her upstairs.

Damon walked into his room and closed the door narrowing his eyes for a few moments…he loves the witch?

**Well Damon admitted his feelings to Elena…when will he admit them to Bonnie? **

**Please review…that makes my fic heart happy! :-)**


	25. Chapter 25

**As I started this chapter, I realized that there are maybe one or two chapters left to this fic. That makes me sad...It has been fun and this is definitely one of my favorite fics. Thank you for all of the encouragement and reviews, I appreciate them all. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

Bonnie walked outside of her house standing on the porch and sat down on one of the chairs. Her father left earlier that morning for another business trip and it began to snow shortly after. The news predicted at least 20 inches, which meant that school would more than likely be cancelled. They were predicting blizzard conditions, but right now…it was peaceful and beautiful. The snow was falling slowly and Bonnie felt as if she was hypnotized.

"Do you remember what we used to do when the snow began to fall when we were kids?" Elena's voice came from the stairs.

Bonnie looked over at Elena who was standing at the top of the stairs with her hands in her coat pockets and Bonnie smiled slightly, "We used to try to catch the snowflakes on our tongues", she answered.

Elena smiled wistfully, "And then we would lay in the snow for hours making angels until your Grams or my mom would call us in", she sat next to Bonnie in one of the patio chairs turning to Bonnie with a frown, "I've called you every day since that night of your birthday…"

"I'm sorry, I've been busy".

"But Caroline told me that you two have been hanging out".

"Not much…just a little".

Elena's frowned deepened, "I hate this…I don't like that we are not speaking".

"I don't like it either, but what am I supposed to say Elena…you hurt me and I haven't forgotten what you said".

"I'm sorry about what I said to you…I was just in shock and…"

"You were jealous", Bonnie interrupted her.

Elena nodded, "And I was jealous and I don't know why".

"Because Damon turned his attention to me and not you", Bonnie supplied.

Elena faced Bonnie, "I'm sorry…that was…ridiculous of me. I don't want Damon…I never wanted him the way I wanted Stefan and I did feel jealous and I shouldn't have…I shouldn't have said those things to you".

Bonnie nodded.

"I just…I just I don't know…you weren't telling us anything, it was as if we knew what was going on with you on the surface but I just felt like we never knew what was going on underneath".

"So that's why you said those things?"

Elena nodded, "You are my best friend Bonnie, like a sister and I…I love you and I hate that I acted like that. I will confess, I was used to Damon paying attention to me and I did…I hate to admit it…I did on some level like that he did love me and I just reacted badly to you two. I'm sorry; I _need_ you to forgive me, please".

"Elena, I didn't want to tell you because I knew that no one would approve…I knew that and I just didn't want to deal with the fall out, but I still cannot believe that you would use what happened with Klaus against me and what I could possibly have with Damon. What really bothers me and I've had a lot of time to think about it this, I thought about that myself…I thought about whether there was just something wrong with me…I thought that maybe I had some crazy fascination with vampires or that it was something subconsciously drawing me to Damon and when you said that about my feelings for Damon and for Klaus, it hurt me a lot".

"I'm sorry…", Elena reached over taking Bonnie's hand, "I never wanted to hurt you…I honestly didn't, I love you".

Bonnie smiled and nodded, "I know you do and I love you too and that's why we are going to be ok…maybe not today, but soon".

Elena smiled, "I guess I have to accept that".

Bonnie looked out at the snow as Elena sat next to her in silence for a few moments and then spoke again, "He told me that he loves you".

Bonnie's heart crashed against her rib cage as she looked over at Elena, "Who Damon?"

"Yes Damon…he was taking up for your relationship and he was telling me how much of a bitch I was to you and he said in the only way Damon could possibly express his feelings that he loves you".

Bonnie shook her head, "He probably just said that to get to you".

"Bonnie, Damon would not just admit that to get on my nerves…trust me".

"He hasn't said anything to me".

Elena narrowed her eyes and smirked, "He's Damon".

Bonnie breathed out, "He probably said it to bother you, that's all".

"Are you sure about that?" Elena asked searching Bonnie's face, "because I am not convinced of that".

"But how could he love me, he couldn't stand me awhile ago".

"That is clearly not the case anymore Bonnie", Elena bumped shoulders with her.

"Well he hasn't admitted it to me, so I will just pretend he never told you that and you never shared it with me", Bonnie replied.

"No you won't", Elena smiled knowingly.

"Oh yes I will", Bonnie smiled, "but I will tell you this, I'm getting better Elena. No one has to worry about me anymore, every day I'm starting to feel like I'm becoming a new and improved Bonnie".

"And that's all we ever wanted Bonnie", Elena replied taking Bonnie's hand, "and although I acted like a complete bitch…"

"You weren't a bitch", Bonnie shook her head.

"I _was_ a bitch…I know that Damon helped you get to that point and I'm grateful to him for that".

Bonnie nodded, "So am I".

Elena smiled as they looked at the snow falling and Bonnie went into deep thought for a moment, "I'm going to get my scar removed", Bonnie spoke up.

"Really?" Elena asked.

"It's time", Bonnie nodded.

SSSSSS

Damon stood in the mirror in his bedroom. It had been a couple of days since he confronted Elena and he told her that he loved the witch. He looked at his face and then he vamped out observing that face. He was convinced that he was losing his edge—he had to go kill something and fast. He turned around to walk out of the room, but was met with Stefan standing in the doorway. He immediately returned to his human face.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Do you think I have changed?" Damon asked, "have I lost my edge?"

"Considering that you ripped the heart out of that vampire last week, I want to say no…" Stefan shook his head.

Damon smiled at the memory of the vampire who wanted to test who had the biggest fangs last week in the woods, he took great pleasure in taking the vamp's heart out and showing him who had the biggest fangs.

"I'm starting to think that I'm going soft…", Damon turned to him, "like Young Gilbert for instance, after what he did at your birthday party…awhile ago, I would have snapped his neck and kept moving, but all I did was punch him…"

"And gave him a very nice bruise…"

"But that's human stuff, I'm a vampire…I could cause much more damage than that".

"Yes, I realize that…but Damon, you are not going soft…not by a long shot".

"Hmmm, it must be from the lack of sex", he frowned.

"So you and Bonnie still haven't…", Stefan trailed off.

"No younger brother, I am still being a good boyfriend to my little witch".

"I'm proud of you", Stefan grinned.

"Well that's what I've been inspiring to…to have my brother keep track of my sex life, you won't be disappointed if I don't take out an ad in the newspaper when Bonnie and I finally consummate our relationship".

Stefan grimaced, "I'm sure we all will be grateful if you do not".

Damon chuckled and then turned serious, "Thank you".

"For what?"

"For not automatically thinking the worst of me when it came to my relationship with Bonnie. I know that it came out of nowhere, I know that no one could have predicted it and it would appear to the outsider that we both lost our minds and somehow developed amnesia, but things changed…I don't know when, but they did".

"Well considering that I had months to observe and overhear some of your conversations, even when I tried not to…I kind of had time to get used to the idea and it is weird, I bet Shelia is spinning in her grave right now".

Damon laughed, "I'm pretty sure she is".

SSSSS

Bonnie sighed as she walked out on her porch with the falling snow covering the ground. The snow refused to fall in December and January, but it definitely was showing up in February. The news predicted a pretty big snowstorm for Mystic Falls and most of all, they officially canceled school for the following day, so Bonnie was feeling pretty good.

As she looked at the snow continuing to cover her steps, she sighed. She hated this. She hated shoveling the sidewalk, but with her father halfway across the country and really no one else to do it, she would have to. At times like this, she wished that she could use her powers to make some chores easier. She pulled the shovel down the stairs, putting on her mittens and fastened her hat's strings around her chin and started shoveling the sidewalk.

As she continued shoveling, she remembered the short talk with Elena about their childhood and how they would play in the snow. She missed those times; things were much simpler then. She put the shovel down and then fell back into the snow. She felt the cold and the wet snow seep into her jeans, but she didn't care as she began to make snow angels. She felt like an idiot for a few moments, but it didn't matter. She was enjoying this.

"What are _you_ doing?" a voice asked from above her as she opened one eye to see Damon standing over her.

"Umm…well…", she mumbled as he held out a hand for her and she took it standing up in the snow, "I was just having a little fun before I got to work".

"You mean, you wanted to catch pneumonia before you started shoveling…look at you, your lips are turning blue", Damon replied.

"You're starting to sound like my dad", Bonnie laughed.

"You're clearly in shock, come in the house with me", Damon said holding his hand out.

"I have to shovel".

"I will compel someone to shovel", Damon said, "now are you going to come in or do I have to carry you".

She rolled her eyes as he followed her up the stairs shaking his head. The witch was clearly losing her mind again.

"Damon, haven't you wished for a moment that you could do something that you did as a child…just to feel like for that one moment that you can go back to that time?" Bonnie asked as she took her jacket off.

"My childhood really wasn't the greatest time for me, I preferred my teen years…ah…memories, memories", Damon smirked, "now take off your clothes".

Bonnie looked at him, "Seriously?"

"You are standing in wet and cold clothes and I refuse to take care of you if you get sick because you wanted to roll around in the snow and relive some crazy moments in your childhood".

"You wouldn't take care of me?" Bonnie pouted looking at him.

Damon shook his head; was she trying to make him crazy, "You know I would take care of you", he replied, "now, go upstairs…change out of those clothes and come back downstairs".

"You're really bossy Mr. Salvatore", Bonnie replied as she headed upstairs to change.

Damon waited for her to disappear up the stairs before he looked outside and noticed some teens walking up the street throwing snow balls at each other. He opened the door and smiled, "Hey guys…let me speak with you for a moment", he replied walking out of the house.

Fifteen minutes later, Bonnie walked down the stairs in her pjs and Damon was casually sitting on the couch flipping through one of her father's magazines. She walked over to the window and noticed that some guys were shoveling her sidewalk and stairs, one had her shovel and the rest were using miscellaneous shovels, "Damon, what did you do?"

"They wanted to help", he shrugged turning a page in the magazine.

"After you suggested it?"

"I _may_ have suggested it".

Bonnie smiled as she plopped down next to Damon on the couch, "You know, when you compel people to help…that's not really doing a good deed".

"Eh…but it gets the job done".

"That it does…so did you come over here to get snowed in with me?"

"Of course, do you think I would want to be snowed in with Elena and Stefan…no thank you".

Bonnie smiled as she placed her head on his shoulder and he caressed her scarred cheek with his thumb, "I want you to go somewhere with me?" she replied quietly.

"In the snow blizzard?"

"No…when it stops, I have a surgery scheduled for Tuesday in Richmond to remove my scar, we would have to leave on Monday".

"Wait…when did you schedule this?" Damon asked looking down at her, "and don't you need your father to give permission or something?"

"A couple of weeks ago and Damon…I'm 18…my dad thought that he could be here but he had to leave due to an emergency with work and he said that he would come back, but I told him that I would ask you and it was no big deal…"

"But I thought you didn't want to get it removed, I hope you are not getting it removed because people are looking at you because if they are…"

"Damon, people are used to seeing it now…people don't stare at me or the scar anymore…I want…I want to get it removed because I feel myself getting better, I feel like I can get past what happened with Klaus and because of that, I can get rid of the scar…I was keeping it as a reminder that I survived what Klaus did to me, but I don't need it anymore…I'm happy and that's enough of a reminder".

"Just so you know, even if you don't want it removed…it's fine with me, you're pretty damn gorgeous right now".

"Thank you, but I need to do this…it's time for me to put all of that behind me", Bonnie nodded.

"Then I will go with you", Damon agreed.

"I appreciate it", Bonnie smiled as she moved closer to him feeling as a weight had been lifted off of her chest.

SSSSS

The following Monday after digging out of the snow, Damon and Bonnie set out for Richmond. Bonnie's nerves were completely frayed and she knew that Damon could hear her heart practically beating out of her chest. While she knew that she should be afraid of the surgery, there was something else attacking her nerves and it threatened to drive her absolutely crazy.

When they walked into the plastic surgeon's office, she gave Damon a look to ensure that he would keep his composure as the surgeon began speaking. She did not need Damon killing her surgeon the day before the surgery.

"So Bonnie, it's a fairly simple procedure and I believe that by the time, I am done…you will have a very faint scar", Dr. Robinson smiled as he leaned back in his chair.

"And what are the possible complications", Damon asked.

"Complications…well…they are minimal".

"Minimal…yes, but that was not my question…what are the complications?" Damon repeated as Bonnie reached out and touched his hand.

"Dr. Robinson, my boyfriend is just a little worried about what may happen to me, but I have nothing to worry about right…I will be good as new?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, Bonnie good as new"

"Then that's all that matters".

"Good, so we just have a few forms for you to fill out in the waiting room and we will see you tomorrow morning", Dr. Robinson stood up.

"Thank you Dr. Robinson, I will go and fill out those forms", Bonnie nodded walking out of the office and she thought Damon was behind her, but noticed the door slam behind her…as much as she wanted to bang on the door, she decided that she would just let Damon be Damon.

"Excuse me…but what are you doing?" Dr. Robinson asked reaching for his phone, but before he could dial one number, Damon raced over to him and pinned him against the wall.

"You will listen to me, you will make sure that Bonnie Bennett's surgery goes well tomorrow or you will kill yourself, do you understand…"

"I understand", Dr. Robinson answered.

"Good", Damon said backing away, "and of course, you won't remember this…but you know, you will make sure that Bonnie's ok".

Dr. Robinson smirked as Damon patted him on the shoulder and walked out of the office.

Damon met Bonnie in the waiting room as she handed the nurse the forms back.

"Ready?" Damon grinned.

"What did you do?" Bonnie folded her arms.

"Nothing Goody Bennett, just asking your doctor about his credentials", Damon smirked wrapping his arm around his shoulders and walking out of the office with her.

SSSSSS

Later that night in their hotel room, Damon watched as Bonnie sat at the room table pushing around the fries around in the Styrofoam container that they came in with a burger. He had finished drinking the blood from the bag that he brought along with him and he was starting to worry about her. When she declared to him a couple of days ago that she was getting the scar removed, he thought it was weird. She stated awhile ago that she would keep the scar as a reminder that she survived Klaus, but since she announced that she was getting it removed, she started acting weird. She was distracted and he could hear that her heart was beating at a rather rapid rate.

"You know, you only have an hour to eat that Goody Bennett", Damon walked over and pushed the container closer to her.

"I'm not really hungry", she replied.

"Ok…what is going on with you…tell me", he folded his arms.

"Nothing is going on…", she slid out of the chair and put her hands in her jeans pockets.

"Oh really, well I can tell that something is wrong…you've been preoccupied for hours now…even when you were in that doctor's office, you seemed off".

"I guess I'm just a little nervous", she answered.

"Trust me, that doctor will do everything he can to make sure that you come out of that surgery good as new, his life depends on it".

Bonnie smiled, "Did you threaten his life?"

"I promise I did not tell him that I would kill him if anything went wrong".

Bonnie raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Hopefully tell me what's wrong with you", he said taking her hands and walking over to the bed. He sat down and she stood in between his legs, "tell me what's going on in that head of yours, if you are afraid of what will happen tomorrow, we can just tell Dr. Robinson that you changed your mind".

Bonnie shook her head, "No…I will be fine".

"Are you sure?"

She took a deep breath, "Yes…I am".

"You sure?"

She nodded, "I'm just trying to move on you know…attempting to become the person that I've been trying to be since I got away from Klaus".

"And you are, you haven't tried to kill me in months".

Bonnie laughed as she hit Damon in the chest, "I…", she began but the words got stuck in her throat.

"You what?" Damon asked.

"Do you remember that night after you found out about what happened with Klaus and I made you promise not to tell anyone about what happened?"

"Well yes…I remember that you were adamant about it and while I didn't completely understand why, I felt like I owed you one…"

"And do you remember how I maintained that I wanted to stay by myself…"

"That's because you were out of your mind and you know I am telling the truth, that was just crazy witch talk".

Bonnie smiled, "And then we had that talk about you, Elena and Stefan…and you told me that you pursued Elena…not just because of what happened with Katherine and everything that went with that is because you wanted someone to think you were good enough…"

"Well…you know…that's what it was about with them, I realize that now and I don't want you to think that you and I together has anything to do with Elena not choosing me over Stefan…"

"I don't believe that", Bonnie replied, "but you want to know what, I think you are more than 'good enough', you have totally changed my opinion on you and many other things and as weird as it sounds to say, I've found myself…falling in love with you".

Damon looked up at Bonnie and he saw it in her eyes. The fact that he didn't need to compete with anyone for her, he didn't have the chaos that he experienced with Katherine…he didn't experience the uncertainty that he felt with Elena…he felt a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time, one of absolute acceptance, fangs and all. Before he thought that there was no way he could be content if he wasn't always fighting something…fighting Stefan…fighting Katherine…fighting Elena on her devotion to Stefan, but standing here with Bonnie…he didn't have to fight her and that meant a lot to him.

"Well that's a good thing Judgey because as much as I think I may need some serious counseling, somehow after you set me on fire…the second time…I've been on the road of falling for you and somehow its manifested in some type of love, but don't ask me what that means", Damon shrugged with a grin.

Bonnie smiled as she placed both of her hands on Damon's cheeks and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her on top of him. The soft kisses that Bonnie placed on his lips were quickly replaced with more passionate ones as he flipped them over. Damon moved his lips to Bonnie's neck and inhaled her scent, the faint aroma of vanilla.

"Just tell me when we need to stop", he whispered in her ear.

"Tomorrow morning", she whispered as he stopped kissing her and gazed down into her green eyes.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"That means…", she looked up at him, "that I don't want to stop this…not now…"

"We can wait until you're ready…"

"I'm ready", she whispered kissing him, "are you, Mr. Salvatore?"

Damon smirked, "Oh definitely", he whispered lowering her down to the bed.

**Don't worry…it will continue into the next chapter. Please show the love or like for this chapter by leaving a review. Thanks! **


	26. Chapter 26

**Wow…I really cannot think all of you enough for your encouragement, reviews, comments, PMs and just your interest in this fic. I appreciate the fact that you took time to read my little work. I had a goal to keep it going throughout the entire summer hiatus and I managed to do just that, but without your encouragement it would not have happened. **

**So thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing…**

Damon Salvatore had been with many, many, many, many, MANY women in over 100 years. Some were for fun, some were interesting accidents, some were just there when he was bored…and before now, only one had really been for love; as he gazed down at Bonnie under him, the feeling that came over him was something that he couldn't quite put his finger on…oh…wait…he knew exactly what it was, it was nervousness because he loved her.

"Damon…is something wrong…do you not…", Bonnie began as he noticed her eyes searching his and her heartbeat speed up.

He looked down at her suddenly feeling his mouth go dry.

"I understand…it's too sudden", she said sitting up and pulling down her shirt.

"No…",he said taking her hand, "I just want to do this right".

"Do this right…I'm sure you know how to do this, Damon…you've done it before…", Bonnie gave him a lopsided grin, more than likely attempting to hide her obvious nervousness.

"Not with you", he whispered touching her cheek and caressing it with his thumb.

She closed her eyes for a few moments as she felt his lips meet hers.

Damon trailed his cool hands along her torso and slowly lifted her shirt over her head. Her hair was up in a messy bun and he pulled the hair tie out of her head, watching as her dark tresses flowed over her shoulders, "Don't be afraid", he whispered to her.

"I'm not", she told him.

Damon pulled her towards him as their bodies melded together and he felt her lifting his shirt over his head. He helped her get it the shirt off and threw it on the floor next to hers. He concentrated on her neck as he lowered her down to the bed. She looked up at him and he didn't see a hint of fear in her eyes, which told him silently that he could proceed. He bent down kissing her gently on her soft lips as he gently worked the button on her jeans open and the zipper down. He had to take his time…he knew this. She was ready, he could tell…he could feel her nervous energy reverberating throughout the room. He also knew that if he was too forceful, this night would not end the way that he or Bonnie wanted to.

As he slowly moved her jeans down and threw them on the floor, he smiled at her as he took one of her legs in his hand and began kissing a trail up her leg. He heard her giggle, "Is this torture?" she asked looking at him.

"Oh no…I haven't began to torture you yet, Judgey", he smiled as he slowly slipped his jeans off.

Bonnie swallowed as she felt parts of her body she didn't know had nerves come alive and when Damon hovered over her in just his boxer briefs, she felt as if she would lose it at any moment.

She closed her eyes as he moved around some more and when she felt his skin against hers, she realized that this was it. After months of piecing herself back together with Damon by her side, after months of realizing that she could move on and not stay stuck in the past, after months of near misses and intense make out sessions, they were about to become closer than they ever had before.

He kissed her softly on the forehead and then she felt it…his body joining with hers in a steady rhythm. She took a small intake of breath as she adjusted to their position, but after that breath, she wrapped her arms around him as she felt them become closer literally and figuratively more than ever before. It was surreal to her, but it was real and it felt…right.

SSSSSS

Damon realized that willpower was definitely something he had in spades, as he made love to Bonnie slowly in the middle of their hotel room bed, he had amazing control over all of his emotions. While he wanted to do all kinds of amazing things to her, he realized that he needed to be gentle and nice and slow was the way to go…but nice and slow was torturing him. When she whispered his name, he had to fight every instinct he had not to make this as rough as he wanted to (there would be plenty of time for that later). He laced his hands through hers as he brought her arms up over her head and whispered in her ear, "I love you".

SSSSS

Hours later, Damon lay in bed partially covered by the sheet as Bonnie lay next to him. He refused to loosen his grip on her because he wanted to keep her right next to him, the way she was…unclothed and beautiful. She smelled like him and he loved that. He thought she was asleep, until he felt her drawing circles on his chest.

"I thought I had tired you out", he mumbled looking down at her with hooded eyes.

"That's how it's supposed to feel", she said quietly.

"What?" he asked.

She sat up, holding the sheet up to her body and looked at him. For a moment, he drank in the sight of her bathed in the moonlight with her hair flowing over her shoulders…she looked…like the woman he was supposed to be with but wasn't quite sure he deserved, "Making love…that's how its supposed to feel…this is how _I'm_ supposed to feel", she said.

Damon sat up, "How do you feel?"

"Good…better than good…that was _really_ good", she smirked.

"Now, if you keep talking like that…I may get a big head…but feel free to continue", Damon grinned.

"I know you took it slow with me and I loved that, you made me feel comfortable and I realize…that's the way it's supposed to be…thank you", she whispered.

"I did take it easy on you Bennett, but next time…it may not work that way", he winked.

"Next time…how long do I have to wait for that?" Bonnie asked with a slightly devilish smile with her tongue sticking out partially.

"How long do you have to wait…well let's see…I can recharge very quickly being a vampire and all…"

"Well it's a good thing I'm a witch, I think we have our own internal energy booster", she smiled.

"Really?" Damon asked moving closer to her.

"Yes", Bonnie grinned looking directly into Damon's eyes.

"You don't know what you have started Goody Bennett", he whispered.

"Oh I think I do", she answered as she lay down and Damon covered her with his body.

SSSSSS

After numerous attempts to leave the hotel room the next morning, which included Damon removing pieces of Bonnie's clothing every time she put them on, they arrived at the hospital and Bonnie went into surgery. Damon was pretty confident that she would come out of all of this fine, but there was still a part of him that was a little afraid. He almost made her drink some of his blood earlier, but he realized that she probably wasn't quite ready for the blood exchanges and all. There were many times during their love making that he had to will himself not to drink from her. They had to take everything slowly and drinking from her was definitely something that would have to come later.

"Mr. Salvatore", Dr. Robinson announced walking out into the waiting room.

"Yes", Damon stood up.

"Bonnie's surgery went well, she will be coming out of the anesthesia very soon and after we check her out, you can feel free to take her home".

"Thanks Doc…so tell me, the scar…"

"It went pretty well, she may have a very faint line on her face, but it will hardly be noticeable".

Damon nodded, "Can I see her now?"

"Yes, she should be coming out of the anesthesia within a few moments", Dr. Robinson replied escorting Damon to the recovery room.

When he walked inside Bonnie was looking at the nurse who was taking her vitals and helping her sit up. She still looked slightly out of it and he noticed the bandage on her cheek, "Well I thought that I would come in and take pictures of you while you were asleep…send them to Stefan and Elena, give them something to laugh about".

"Not funny, Damon", Bonnie mumbled as she slipped on her shoes.

"She's a little groggy, but she will sleep it off pretty soon", the nurse said handing Damon a couple of documents.

"Umm…thank you", he replied watching as Bonnie swayed a little when she stood up and he held his arm out for her.

"How long will she be like this?" Damon asked holding on to Bonnie.

"No more than a couple of hours, she's fine…just a little groggy".

"Ok".

"But I have to tell you since you're soo cute, if you ever wanted to know anything about what your lady love is thinking about you…it's best to ask her now", the nurse winked.

"Ahh thinks", Damon answered as he helped Bonnie out of the room.

SSSSS

When the couple returned to their hotel room for the night, Damon helped Bonnie to the bed and started to remove her shoes as she looked up at him with partially closed eyes, "You know…", she began but stopped as if she was trying really hard to stay focused.

"No Goody Bennett, I don't know", he smirked as he threw her shoe on the floor.

"After last night and a little before that, I _almost_ regret setting you on fire those two times", Bonnie smiled wistfully.

"_Almost_ regret, huh?"

"Yes…you were pretty mean back then".

"And you were?"

"I was judgey", she smiled with her eyes closed.

Damon chuckled as he shook his head, "Yes you were".

"But you also tried to kill me…so I tried to kill you…so I would say that we are even now".

"Even…you tried to kill me **twice**", Damon argued.

Bonnie giggled with her eyes still closed and then she frowned as she sat up looking at him pouting for a bit, "The medicine has me feeling all wacky", she frowned, "but…"

"Yes, it does…so you better quit while you're ahead".

"But I want to tell you a secret", she smiled.

Damon leaned down. He was actually enjoying this. Since Bonnie starting to move past everything that happened with Klaus, she returned to the Bonnie who for the most part was always in control; now, notsomuch.

"Ok, what's your secret?" he smirked.

"Even when I absolutely hated you…wanted you dead and wished you would disappear…"

"Wow Bonnie, you really know how to seduce a guy…"

She laughed, "Even when I didn't like you or I hated you, I always wondered what it would be like…"

"Be like?" he asked.

"You know…", she grinned.

Damon had an inkling of what she was talking about, but how many times would he have the chance to get her to confess it, "No, I don't know…why don't you tell me?" he asked with a wide smile.

"To do it with you", she giggled and then covered her mouth.

"Oh so you had the hots for me even when you were telling me how much you hated me?"

"Mmm, hmm", she nodded.

Damon smiled and then leaned down, "Can I tell you a secret…", he whispered in her ear as she nodded, "even when we were at each other's throats, there were times that I wanted to grab you and kiss you…just to see what you would do".

Bonnie smiled as she looked in his eyes, "Kiss me now", she said pursing her lips.

Damon shook his head as he kissed her and lowered her down on the bed. As soon as he moved to her neck, he heard her breathing softly and realized that she was asleep. "Typical", he mumbled as he looked down at her and kissed her forehead.

SSSSSS

After returning to Mystic Falls, Damon convinced Bonnie to stay at the Salvatore boarding house. One, because he had read plenty of stories of how people were fine after surgeries and then days later something unexpected happened and they ended up dead and two, because he wanted her close to him. Their relationship had taken on a new turn, but they hadn't taken advantage of the new turn until that night and while he was being patient, he was definitely eager.

After pouring a cup of blood and heating it in the microwave, he walked up to his bedroom where Bonnie was in the mirror touching the bandage around her cheek.

"Now, you know that has to stay on for a week", Damon walked over and stood behind her.

"I just wonder what it will look like".

"It will look fine", he replied sitting down his cup of blood on the dresser and turning her around, "and even if it's not exactly perfect, it will be fine…_you_ will be fine".

Bonnie smiled, "Did I say something stupid to you yesterday while I was out of it".

"Stupid…not at all", Damon walked away from her and then turned back around, "oh wait, it was that one thing…about when you hated me, you still wanted to do me and Goody Bennett, I had no idea that you felt that way…"

Bonnie gasped and rushed over to him, "I did not say such a thing".

"Oh yes, you did…and I promise, I will keep it between us", he grinned.

She hit him in the chest, "I did not say that Damon…I never thought of you in that way before all of this!"

"Uh, huh sure…don't worry I won't tell any of your friends and ruin your reputation", Damon teased her.

"You are not funny", she raised her hand to hit him, but he caught her arm bending down to kiss her.

They kissed for a few moments as he moved them over to his bed. Bonnie sat down as he slowly moved on top of her capturing her lips in a kiss and he moved his hand up her shirt. She moaned a little as he moved to her neck and she moved her hands up his back as she pulled him closer.

"Damon…", Stefan knocked on the door.

Damon sighed as he looked down at Bonnie rolled his eyes, "Yes, Stefan…"

"Caroline and Elena will be here in a few minutes, they are coming to see Bonnie…"

"Tell them not to come…"

"No…no…thanks Stefan", Bonnie said sitting up as Damon glared at her, "trust me, tonight I will definitely repay your kindness over the past couple of months".

"I will hold you to that Bennett", Damon replied sliding off of her.

SSSSSS

Hours later, Elena and Caroline were eating at the Mystic Grille. The bandage on Bonnie's face was rather small and didn't attract too much attention, but it was noticeable. "So does it hurt?" Caroline asked grimacing.

"No, it hurt a little afterwards…but I was so out of it with the anesthesia that I couldn't feel anything", Bonnie shrugged.

"So how was your trip other than the surgery?" Elena asked.

Bonnie couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face, "It was good…really good".

Caroline and Elena exchanged looks, "What does that mean?" Caroline asked.

"Well…" Bonnie continued to grin.

"You and Damon…", Caroline began with a slightly confused look, "you did not…"

"We did", Bonnie smiled and then looked at Elena, who took a moment to catch on, but suddenly did.

"Wait…you and Damon slept together?" she asked.

Bonnie nodded, "And it was nice, he didn't pressure me or anything…I wanted to do it and that's why it happened…he was really good about it".

Caroline shook her head in disbelief, "We _are _talking about Damon Salvatore here, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are talking about Damon and believe me…I feel weird even saying it myself".

"Well you definitely seem happy", Elena spoke up.

"I am and I don't know how any of this happened, but I'm glad it did".

"You know, if you didn't have the ability to set him on fire if he hurt you…I wouldn't approve of this relationship at all", Caroline smiled, "but since you can do that if he ever hurts you, I guess its not that bad".

"Well I know that Damon cares about you a lot, so I know that he won't hurt you", Elena smiled reaching across the table and taking Bonnie's hand.

Bonnie smiled back at her.

"Ok…I guess I will play best supportive girlfriend either and I want you to tell me all about it…I will just pretend that he's Ryan Reynolds or something as you tell the story", Caroline put her hands on her cheeks and leaned forward, "now tell us all about it and don't leave a thing out".

SSSSSS

"So don't you have somewhere to go tonight?" Damon walked into the living room as Stefan sat on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table flipping through a magazine.

"Nope, not especially", Stefan turned another page.

"Ok…look", Damon walked over and knocked Stefan's feet down, "this is the thing…after Bonnie finishes playing the BFF game with Caroline and Elena, she's coming back here and I want to have some alone time with her, if you don't mind".

"Alone time? I take it your relationship with Bonnie changed while you were in Richmond".

"I will neither confirm nor deny, but I need you to go somewhere…go to Elena's…visit her…go play matchmaker for Baby Gilbert, I don't care…I just need to be alone with Bonnie tonight".

Stefan smirked, "I don't know…I remember how you used to infringe on my time with Elena and you always found it quite funny".

"Look…you know that Bonnie is kind of new to this and having you here would only make her incredibly uncomfortable and you definitely don't want that".

Stefan chuckled as he stood up, "I was joking, but I enjoyed watching you squirm for those few moments…I would never do that to Bonnie".

Damon narrowed his eyes, "I don't know if you should play these games with me, I _do_ have a girlfriend who can set vampires on fire with her mind".

Stefan nodded, "So you do…so you do".

SSSSSSS

After leaving the Mystic Grille, Bonnie went back to the boarding house. She was feeling pretty good; especially since it appeared that Elena and Caroline were adjusting to her being in a relationship with Damon. She parked her car and headed up the stairs and knocked on the door. After a couple of moments, her phone beeped to alert her of a text message. She looked down and read it, "The door's open".

Bonnie smiled as she turned the knob on the door and stepped inside of the boarding house to see candles aligning the stairs. She put her keys on the table by the door as her phone beeped again, "I'm upstairs".

Bonnie smiled as she walked up the stairs towards Damon's bedroom as candles illuminated the stairs and the hallway. She felt the happy tears welling up in her eyes at the mere thought of what was awaiting her…this is what she had dreamed of…this is what she imagined...

When she reached Damon's bedroom, she turned the doorknob and she was standing in the room surrounded by candles. She walked into the room with her hand to her mouth, "You follow directions very well when you want to", Damon whispered in her ear.

She turned to him, "How did you know?" she whispered.

"Boyfriend ESP", he answered.

"Or boyfriend superhearing".

"Or that", he shrugged.

"Come here", she pulled him to her.

"Oh Good Bennett, I had no idea you were so rough", Damon smirked as she pulled him over to the bed on top of her.

SSSSS

As her caramel skin was caressed by his ivory hands as they made love slowly, she looked up at him and touched his face, "Let me see your other face", she asked quietly.

"My other face?"

"Your _other_ face", she whispered.

He looked at her and shook his head.

"I want to see it", she said caressing his cheek.

She watched as he shook his head and within a few moments, the black veins appeared around his eyes and she watched as his fangs grew and he looked down at her.

She gasped… for a moment she was afraid…for a moment, she wondered what she was doing and then she realized, that this was the man who had been by her side for almost a year (even when she didn't want him to be) and it didn't matter what his face looked like at this moment, he was still the one that only wanted to make sure that she was safe and comfortable.

"You can drink from me", she said as she touched the veins around his eyes.

"No…I don't need to, just being with you like this is good enough", he whispered.

"Damon, its ok…I want to be as close to you as possible and I'm not afraid…not anymore".

He shook his head. All of his senses were starting to heighten even more than before. Bonnie reached up, grabbing him by the back of his neck and she kissed him deeply. He returned the kiss as he felt her soft body under his and then she turned her head revealing her neck. Damon looked at her neck as he caressed it with his hand and then he placed a kiss on her pulse point before sinking his fangs into her. He heard her gasp as she held onto him tightly as he drank from her. Her blood was as sweet as he remembered from years ago. It was addicting and he wanted to savor every drop. He lowered her down to the bed as he fisted her long brown tresses and he felt her caressing his back. When he pulled back, he bit into his wrist, "Drink", he coaxed her.

She drank from his wrist for a few moments grimacing and when he gently moved her head away, Damon leaned down and joined his lips with hers as they melted into the middle of the bed as the candles burned around them.

**Please feed the review meter :-) **

**Oh and there is one more chapter plus an epilogue left. *\o/***


	27. Chapter 27

**Well this is the last official chapter of **_**Turning Tables**_**, thank you for reviewing and reading. Remember, there is an epilogue that will follow in a couple of days…so look out for it. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

Bonnie woke up the next morning with Damon's arm wrapped around her waist. For a moment, she thought that her face felt weird and then she touched it again. "Damon…", she said sitting up.

"Hmm…what…you know, I'm starting to think I created a monster when it comes to fu…"

"Damon, my bandage…it fell off", she said holding the bandage in her hand, "oh my god…it could get infected or something…"

Damon sat up and looked over at her, "I doubt it will become infected".

"How can you be sure…you're not a doctor", Bonnie said jumping out of the bed and rushing over to the mirror.

Damon admired her for a few moments in just a t-shirt that barely covered the best physical parts of her body before getting out of the bed. He walked up behind her to look in the mirror, "Wow", he said.

She touched the place on her cheek where her scar used to be and gone was the raised pink scar on her cheek that stuck out like a horrible reminder of a year of torture and that raised pink scar was replaced with a very light brown line across her cheek. It was faint and Bonnie was pleased.

"They said it would take about a week to fully heal", Bonnie whispered as she touched the line on her face.

"I guess my blood last night sped along the process".

Bonnie grinned as she looked at herself in the mirror. Although people mentioned to her that she was just as pretty or just as beautiful as she was before with the scar, seeing her face without it made her heart swell a little. She felt normal again…really normal.

"I can't believe it's gone", she shook her head, "I thought that I would look at it forever".

"Well you don't have to now", Damon turned her around to face him, "and I guess that Dr. Robinson deserves a thank you card".

"He definitely does…and you do as well".

Damon smiled as he lifted Bonnie up and sat her on the dresser, "Well I rather my thank you come in the physical form".

She wrapped her arms around his neck as he moved closer to her, "Now who's the monster now?"

"Always me", Damon grinned into the kiss picking her up placing his hands on her bottom and carrying her over to the bed.

He sat down as she straddled him, "How about we try something new?" he whispered in her ear.

Bonnie looked at him. She had become comfortable allowing him to lead. She wasn't very experienced, he was truly her only experience…she didn't count Klaus…she would never count Klaus.

"No need to be nervous, I promise I will teach you everything that I like", Damon said running a finger up and down her arm as he leaned back on the bed.

"Everything that you like?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I promise…", he said leaning up, "we _both_ will enjoy it immensely".

Bonnie smiled as he leaned back and placed his hands on her waist.

SSSSSS

Bonnie parked her car in front of her house later that day and removed her bag from the trunk. As much as she wanted to spend the day with Damon, she had to go home and just…decompress. One by one every aspect of her time with Klaus was melting away and she was grateful for that. There was a time when she thought she would never forget or she would never stop feeling the effects of what happened and right now, every moment with Klaus was disappearing.

She smiled as she closed her trunk as she thought about the moments with Damon over the last couple of days. She had no idea that she could feel this way or even do the things she had with him.

"Bonnie", a voice broke into her thoughts.

Bonnie looked up to her porch to see Jeremy standing on the stairs. She kept her mouth in a straight line as she walked up the stairs. They had not interacted since the night of her birthday and while she was disheartened at how their friendship had disintegrated, she refused to just make nice with Jeremy.

"Jeremy", she replied as she walked up to stand in front of him.

"I heard you had surgery to remove the scar…it was a success, I see".

She nodded, "It was and I'm happy with it".

"I'm glad…look…I wanted to talk to you and when I say talk to you, I mean without judging you or Damon or your relationship".

Bonnie nodded, "You want to come in?"

Jeremy nodded as he followed her into the house.

She dropped her keys on the side table and placed her bag near the stairs, "So what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to apologize to you, I know that I've been a jackass to you since we broke up and I've done and said things that have hurt you and our friendship, I guess I can only blame it on the fact that I was hurt that you rejected me when you came back and that is really no excuse either…"

"I know that it's hard to have me come back and suddenly I'm different…so different that I didn't know what I was doing or saying half the time and Jeremy, while I knew that we could never go back to what we were before…I wanted you to move on with someone who could be devoted to you and you deserve that soo much", Bonnie said taking Jeremy's hand, "and I can't give you that and I'm sorry, but I want to be your friend…I have offered that since day one".

"And I wasn't ready to accept it or take it then, but I am now…I care about you Bonnie, I do…and as much as I hate that Damon Salvatore is the one putting a smile on your face nowadays…", Jeremy sighed, "I am happy that _someone_ is putting a smile on your face, even if its Damon Salvatore, you deserve it after all you've been through.

"Thank you and we can definitely be friends", Bonnie whispered as she hugged Jeremy.

SSSSS

A week later, Bonnie stood in the mirror of her bedroom brushing her hair up into a ponytail. It had been a year since she woke up in her bedroom away from Klaus and a very broken and angry person and today, she stood in her mirror as a happier and whole person. It was nice. To celebrate this little milestone, Caroline browbeat everyone into going to the Mystic Grille for a celebration get together. Bonnie wasn't too crazy about going, while she was grateful that her friends wanted to celebrate that things were normal again (well as normal as they could get in a town like Mystic Falls), she didn't want to continue to dwell on anything that happened with Klaus. It was in the past and it would stay dead and buried with him.

"If you take any longer, we are not going…I barely want to go anyway", Damon walked into her bedroom.

"I'm done and I know that you don't want to go, but I appreciate you being a good sport".

"Only for you", he said kissing her on the forehead.

"You know, if Caroline could see this side of you…she would like you much, much more".

"Doubt it", Damon replied walking away from her, "and you're the only one who is going to get this side from me".

"I guess that's a start", Bonnie shrugged.

"Yup, but as long as we don't have to celebrate the night you set me on fire in the woods…I'm happy", Damon replied as he walked out of Bonnie's room.

"That wasn't even me!" Bonnie called after him picking up her purse before rushing out of the bedroom.

In the empty room, a figure remained in the mirror pouted with her arms crossed, "One more thing for me to be jealous of her about…", the image of Bonnie smirked as she disappeared.


	28. Epilogue

**When I started this in May, it was just a hope that I could keep it going to the end of the summer and I did. I want to thank all of my readers for staying with me with such a dark, heartbreaking and at times exhausting fic. I appreciate it. **

**I am going to miss this fic soo much…but here goes…**

**Disclaimer: I own nada. **

**Epilogue-8 years later…**

"The parents of Bobby Simpson and Billy Ackles are still searching for the young boys who disappeared two weeks while playing near their homes in Charlottesville, Virginia…", the newscaster stated, "their mothers state that they left at around noon on April 12th to play 'explorer' and never returned…the search continues hoping that the boys will be found…"

Bonnie turned off the kitchen television as she shook her head.

"So scary", Elena shuddered, "I could not imagine…"

Bonnie nodded, "I tried a locator spell, but I didn't find anything…I mean, I don't know those people…but the fact that their children are missing scares me".

"Did you find anything?" Elena asked.

Bonnie shook her head, "I felt nothing, which makes me feel even worse".

"Why?"

"Because over the years I've gotten better with locating people or things with my locator spell and when I usually can't locate someone…it means they're dead", Bonnie frowned.

"But that's not absolute right?"

"No…nothing is absolute".

"Well there is still hope then".

"I hope so", Bonnie replied as she looked out of the window into the backyard.

"So Stefan called me this morning from New York, he says that if he doesn't murder Damon by the end of the day…they should be back in a couple of hours and that Jeremy's bachelor party was a success".

"That's good…Damon called me this morning and told me that Stefan was being even more broody than usual", Bonnie smirked as she poured Elena a glass of lemonade and they walked out of the kitchen and headed into the living room.

"Well that's because he hates being away from us", Elena smiled with a shrug.

"Stefan is a worrier".

"And Damon's not far behind him, they just let it manifest differently".

"That's true…", Bonnie nodded, "but I guess they just want to hold on to this life as tightly as they can".

"Especially when they never thought they could have it", Elena smiled.

Bonnie nodded as she sipped her lemonade.

SSSSS

"Callie, we are not supposed to leave the backyard", six year old, Angela 'Angel' Salvatore whispered as she followed Callisto 'Callie' Salvatore, also six years old, out of the backyard of the Salvatore boarding house, "Aunt Bonnie said we have to stay in".

"Mommy said that we have to stay where she can see us…my mom can see what I do in my bedroom all the time when she's downstairs, she can see far away…"

"Callie…" Angel whined.

"Angel, you can go back if you wanna", Callie replied.

"No…I go with you", Angel said following Callie out of the backyard and into the surrounding woods.

They ran through the trees for a moment until they noticed two little boys playing hide and go seek in the woods, "Gotcha Bobby!" one of the boys called tackling the other.

Angel and Callie stopped in their tracks as the boys noticed them.

"We should go Callie", Angel pulled on Callie's Cookie Monster t-shirt.

"Not yet", Callie whispered.

"Hi", one of the boys waved walking over, "I'm Billy and this is my friend Bobby".

Callie looked over at the boys, "I'm Callie and this is Angel".

Angel waved shyly.

"What are you doing here…this is my Daddy's house and his woods…"

"Oh…we were playing a game with our Dad…here he comes now", Bobby said turning around.

Callie watched as a rather tall man walked towards them. Angel was hiding behind her back peering over her shoulder.

"Here's our dad now", Billy replied, "Dad, these are our friends…Callie and Angel".

The blue eyed man kneeled down and looked at Callie and then at Angel standing behind her, "Hello, are my sons bothering you?"

"No…but they are not supposed to play here", Callie answered with every bit of authority that her six year old voice could muster.

"I am deeply sorry, William…Robert…go back to the car".

Bobby and Billy nodded as they headed off towards the car in a speed that made both Angel and Callie's eyes widened.

"Wow…how did they do that?" Angel gasped walking from behind Callie.

Callie raised an eyebrow.

"They are…_special_", the man answered, "by the way, I am Klaus", he held out his hand.

"Are you a superhero", Angel said holding out her hand and shaking Klaus hand.

"Something like that", Klaus smiled as he looked at Callie with fascination, "you are not going to shake my hand?"

"My Daddy told me not to talk to strangers or _touch_ them", Callie snitted.

Klaus chuckled, "I see…"

"Callie, he's Klaus…like Santie Claus", Angel grinned, "right?"

"Sort of".

Callie looked at Klaus, "My Daddy says Santie Claus is some big fat man that lies and says he brings gifts…you are not fat and I don't see my doll I asked for last Christmas".

Klaus chuckled deeply, "No I am not…but I do know your Daddy…and your Mommy…you have her eyes".

Callie backed up a little as Angel spoke, "Do you know my Mommy and Daddy".

"Yes, we're all old friends".

"Ooooooh", Angel nodded.

"Well we have to go…bye…", Callie said turning around.

"Callisto!" Klaus called from behind her.

Callie turned around, "Can you tell your Mommy that you saw me today and I will be seeing her soon".

Callie nodded slowly.

"Oh and Callisto…", Klaus walked over to her and removed a lilac rose from behind his back, "give her this, she likes roses".

Callie took the rose and nodded.

Klaus smiled and then disappeared.

SSSSS

"Callisto, it _is_ time for bed", Bonnie replied for the 10th time as she watched Callie sit by the window staring out of it.

"But I'm waiting for Daddy".

"And he will be here when you wake up in the morning, Angel already went to sleep".

"Angel's a baby", Callie answered.

Bonnie rolled her eyes with a slight smirk, "Angel is the same age as you are".

"I'm older", Callie answered.

Bonnie shook her head and tried to hide her smile, Callisto was every bit of Damon and at times it was charming and at other times, it was annoying. She used the spell that she found with Klaus six and a half years ago to turn Stefan human for 24 hours. Elena and Stefan were already married and committed to each other, they thought about adoption and were about to start the proceedings, when Bonnie suggested the spell. She cast the spell and told them to go on their merry way and be happy. Little did she know that when she cast the spell with Damon in the periphery, that he was turned human for the 24 hours as well…and a month later, Bonnie was extremely surprised to find out that she was going to help carry on the Salvatore line. Suffice to say, Caroline wasn't too happy that her two best friends went and got pregnant at the same time without telling her the plan. Bonnie promised when Caroline was ready to settle down with either Tyler or Matt (after all these years), that she would do the spell for her as well.

But as for Callie, she was a firecracker; ever since she was born and she was every bit of her father but she had Bonnie's green eyes and sometimes, Bonnie's bravado.

"Callisto, you have three seconds to go upstairs…one…two…"

"Daddy!" Callie jumped off of the window seat and ran to the door just as it opened with Damon walking through the threshold with his bags followed by Stefan.

Stefan smiled at the group, "Elena and Angel upstairs?" he asked.

Bonnie nodded as Stefan passed her and headed up the stairs.

Callie jumped up on Damon as he dropped his bags and wrapped his arms around her. Bonnie shook her head.

"Daddy…I waited for you all day…I missed you!" Callie squeezed him.

"I missed you too and your Mommy too", he said throwing Bonnie a look.

"Well thank you and now that you've come home, it is time for Miss Callisto to go to bed", Bonnie replied.

"Guess it's bedtime kiddo", Damon said setting Callie down on the floor.

"I want Daddy to put me to bed", Callie grinned looking up at Damon and batting her long lashes.

"Fine…fine…Daddy, put her to bed", Bonnie threw up her hands walking up the stairs.

"Don't worry Mommy, after I put Callisto to bed…I will put _you_ to bed", Damon wiggled his eyebrow as Bonnie turned to face him.

"Will you read Mommy a book?" Callie asked as Damon picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

"Sure will", Damon winked at Bonnie in front of them on the stairs as he headed up behind her.

When they reached Callie's bedroom, Damon sat Callie down on her bed and she crawled up and settled under the covers, "Now, what did I tell you about giving your mother a hard time?"

"I sorry…I missed you", Callie pouted.

"I know, but listen to your Mom…always…got that, she typically knows what's best".

"Yes", Callie replied and then frowned, "but I did something bad today…"

"What did you do?"

"I left the backyard".

"Callisto…."

"And I met a man…"

"A man…what man…who is he…where was he?" Damon replied going on high alert.

"There were some boys playing in the woods…he was their Daddy…he said he was your friend and Mommy's friend".

Damon raised an eyebrow, "A friend…what friend?"

"He said…he said his name was Klaus…", she replied.

Damon felt his fangs itch as he grabbed Callie, "Klaus…did he do anything to you…what did he say…where is he now?"

"I don't know Daddy…he said to give Mommy this…", she bent over and removed the lilac rose from her night table, "and said he would see her soon…"

Damon looked down at the rose and he fought every impulse not to vamp out, he took the rose from Callie's hands.

"I didn't give mommy the rose…because I didn't want her to be mad at me for leaving the backyard".

"That was good Callie, that was good…but you cannot go outside until I give you permission and you are not to speak to strangers ever again, do you hear me?" Damon ordered her.

"Yes Daddy", she nodded sadly.

"And if you ever see this Klaus again, you will come get me…do you understand?"

Callie nodded.

"I love you Callie, do you understand?" Damon asked.

"I know Daddy and I'm sorry for leaving the backyard", Callie answered.

"I know", Damon kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room.

Every one of his senses were humming. Callie was a perceptive little girl and there was no way she was making up Klaus. Damon looked down at the lilac rose. Bonnie told him that Klaus would give her lilac roses when he held her captive all of those years ago and between the rose and the 'seeing her soon'…Damon was on full alert. He had to get Bonnie and Callie away from Mystic Falls.

He closed his hand around the rose and crumbled it before throwing it in the trash in the hallway bathroom. He looked in the mirror and ran his hands over his face and then gripped onto the sink. If he had a trace of anger in his face, Bonnie would pick up on it. She would know that something was wrong.

"Bonnie…", he said looking around and then laid eyes on her as she stood in their personal bathroom door.

For a moment, he forgot all about what Callisto told him. Bonnie was dressed in a very short lace thingy that he bought her for one of _his_ birthdays that she refused to wear for him and some black stilettos, "And what occasion is this?" he asked.

"Well Callisto wasn't the only one who missed you over the past couple of days?" she walked over to him and stood in front of him.

Her hair was just the way he liked it soft waves and flowing down her back. When they first started making love, she was hesitant and nervous to branch out and truly be the sexual person that he knew she was dying to be, but over the past couple of years she had truly become a vixen…one that could bring him to his knees in many different pleasurable ways.

"I thought you told me that you would never wear that", he breathed out.

She reached up and started to unbutton his shirt kissing each section of skin that was revealed, "I lied", she whispered moving him over to the bed, "aren't you happy I did".

"Definitely", he answered as she pushed him over on the bed and climbed on top of him loosening his belt buckle.

She smiled as she kissed a trail of kisses down his chest and took a breath that he didn't even need. As much as he wanted to tell her about Klaus and what happened earlier with Callisto, he couldn't rock her like that at this moment…no…not at this moment as he felt her slip his pants and boxers over his hips, he pulled her up to face him, "I love you", he whispered.

"I love you too", she whispered as he felt her join with him.

SSSSS

"Bonnie…open those beautiful eyes".

Bonnie opened her eyes to her dark bedroom. Damon's side of the bed was vacant and she peered into the darkness, "Who's there?" she whispered.

He chuckled as he stepped from the shadows, "You haven't forgotten me already, have you?"

Bonnie blinked as she felt fear take over her body, "You're not here…this is just a nightmare", she closed her eyes.

She felt a weight come over her and when she opened her eyes again, she was staring into Klaus' blue eyes, "I told you I would see you again", he said lowering her down to the bed as she shut her eyes and felt his cold lips kiss her neck.

"No!" Bonnie screamed as she clawed at Klaus and then felt someone shaking her.

"Bonnie wake up..." Damon's voice broke through her thoughts.

She opened her eyes and looked around the room, "He's here…he's awake", Bonnie jumped out of the bed.

"Bonnie…what…who…?" Damon asked praying that she had not had a vision.

She looked around the room feverishly as Damon grabbed her arms forcing her eyes to meet his, "Who's here?"

She swallowed as the tears sprang to her eyes and she felt a coldness that she had not felt in years come over her body, "Klaus", she whispered.

**I don't have a sequel planned as of right now, too early for that…but maybe in a year…maybe…but if you liked or loved this fic, please show your love in reviews...I would appreciate them soo much.  
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